Overnight cocoa oats with banana and toasted almonds

Name: Overnight cocoa oats with banana and toasted almonds
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: world favourites
Ingredients: 100 g Rolled oats (50 g per jar; regular rolled oats, not instant, which would turn to mush overnight); 220 g Fresh milk, 3% fat (1 litre carton) (200 ml for the base, plus 2 tbsp to loosen in the morning if needed); 150 g Plain yoghurt, 3% fat (150 g pot) (1 × 150 g pot); 150 g Soft white cheese, 5% fat (gvina levana, 250 g pot) (150 g; makes the base thick and creamy, less tart than yoghurt alone); 12 g Pure unsweetened cocoa powder (2 level tbsp); 180 g Bananas (2 small, very ripe, spotted bananas, weighed without the skin: 1 mashed into the base, 1 sliced in the morning); 20 g Honey (1 tbsp, or 20 g silan for the Israeli pairing of cocoa and date syrup); 1 g Ground cinnamon (1 generous pinch); 0.4 g Fine salt (1 small pinch); 20 g Whole unblanched almonds (1 small handful, dry-toasted and roughly chopped)

dairyPrepare the day before breakfast · world favourites · 1/5 · very easy · 15 min, including 15 hands-on

A chocolate version of overnight oats: a very ripe mashed banana spends the night with oats, cocoa and a hint of cinnamon, making a creamy chocolate breakfast topped in the morning with banana slices and toasted almonds.

Ingredients for two

100 g	Rolled oats 50 g per jar; regular rolled oats, not instant, which would turn to mush overnight
220 g	Fresh milk, 3% fat (1 litre carton) 200 ml for the base, plus 2 tbsp to loosen in the morning if needed
150 g	Plain yoghurt, 3% fat (150 g pot) 1 × 150 g pot
150 g	Soft white cheese, 5% fat (gvina levana, 250 g pot) 150 g; makes the base thick and creamy, less tart than yoghurt alone
12 g	Pure unsweetened cocoa powder 2 level tbsp
180 g	Bananas 2 small, very ripe, spotted bananas, weighed without the skin: 1 mashed into the base, 1 sliced in the morning
20 g	Honey 1 tbsp, or 20 g silan for the Israeli pairing of cocoa and date syrup
1 g	Ground cinnamon 1 generous pinch
0.4 g	Fine salt 1 small pinch
20 g	Whole unblanched almonds 1 small handful, dry-toasted and roughly chopped

Method

The evening before, toast the almonds in a small dry frying pan over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes, shaking often. They should smell toasted and be pale golden inside when one is broken open. Spread on the chopping board to cool.
Meanwhile, pour 40 g milk into the bowl and warm in the microwave for 20 seconds. Mix in the cocoa, honey, cinnamon and salt with a fork until smooth and glossy, without lumps. Warming the cocoa brings out its aroma and dissolves the honey instead of letting it sink to the bottom.
Add one of the two bananas, 90 g, and mash finely into the paste, almost to a purée. Pour in the remaining 160 g cold milk, followed by the yoghurt and fromage blanc, and beat with a fork until evenly coloured. Taste: it should be distinctly chocolatey and mellow without being sugary.
Stir in the oats, divide between the two 500 ml jars, filling them three-quarters full, close and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally 8. The oats absorb the liquid and the banana flavours everything. Roughly chop the cooled almonds into 3–4 mm pieces and keep in a small sealed container outside the refrigerator to preserve their crunch.
In the morning, stir each jar right to the bottom; the texture should be that of a thick chocolate cream. If too firm, loosen with 1 tbsp milk per jar. Cut the other banana into 5 mm slices, arrange on top with the toasted almonds and eat immediately, well chilled.

On your plate

Recipe

542 kcal · protein 23 g · carbs 67 g · fat 18 g

Quantities per person

50 g Rolled oats
110 g Fresh milk, 3% fat (1 litre carton)
75 g Plain yoghurt, 3% fat (150 g pot)
75 g Soft white cheese, 5% fat (gvina levana, 250 g pot)
6 g Pure unsweetened cocoa powder
90 g Bananas
10 g Honey
0.5 g Ground cinnamon
0.2 g Fine salt
10 g Whole unblanched almonds

Cooking tips

Prepare the evening before, taking 10 minutes, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. Allow 5 minutes in the morning for the banana and almonds. The mashed banana can brown beneath the cocoa without showing or affecting the flavour; only the slices wait until morning. To take away, close the jar without the slices, carry the banana whole and the almonds in a small bag, then slice and add just before eating. For an Israeli variation, replace honey with silan and drizzle with tahini, 5 g per jar, to serve.

Equipment : 2 × 500 ml jars with lids, small sealed container for the almonds, small frying pan, knife and chopping board, microwave-safe bowl, microwave, fork

Overnight oats and Bircher muesli in a cocoa and banana version, with an optional Israeli touch of silan and tahini.

Overnight cocoa oats with banana and toasted almonds

Method

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On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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