Heaven on Earth – Oven-Baked Breakfast Dish (with Berries and Chocolate)

This has quickly become one of my favorite breakfasts. It’s nutritious, indulgent, and absolutely delicious. They always say that a good start is half the battle. Well, with this breakfast, you’ve already kicked off your day on the right foot. Blueberries and raspberries are delicious, fresh, and sweet—and they’re also a great source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. In short, starting your day with this is (surprise!) a healthy start to what could be a great day. 😉

Everyday Extraordinary

This is really the kind of dish you make on a Sunday morning—or whenever you get to sleep in an extra hour. When you can afford to wait a little longer for breakfast, this little dish is ideal. It really isn’t any extra work. Mashing the banana, mixing it with the oatmeal, and adding the fruit takes no more than 5 minutes. You’ll have to wait 15 minutes for it to bake, but in the meantime, you can do something else. The oven doesn’t need any encouragement. 😉 Your patience will definitely pay off. This oven-baked breakfast adds a touch of luxury and richness to your day. It highlights the specialness of the everyday and the art of combining the right ingredients.

Frozen or fresh berries?

When raspberries and blueberries are in season, I would definitely recommend going for the fresh ones. That way, you’ll get the very best in terms of quality, and you’ll undoubtedly taste the difference in your breakfast bowl. The blueberry and raspberry season in Belgium and the Netherlands runs from June through October. ¹Sometimes the first blueberries are already available in May. ²

If you want to make this dish at another time of year, frozen berries are the best option. That’s because fresh berries taste much more tart then, and they’ll also cost a bit more. Frozen berries can sometimes have a slightly mushy texture after thawing. For some recipes, that might be a turn-off, but in this dish, it might even be a plus. After all, there’s nothing better than warm, soft berries paired with chocolate! 😊

The Recipe

Ingredients: (serves 2)

• 60 g rolled oats
• 2 ripe bananas
• 100 g blueberries
• 150 g raspberries
• 60 g chocolate (70% cocoa*)

Preparation: (5 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of waiting for the oven)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Mash the banana in small ovenproof bowls.
3. Stir in the rolled oats.
4. Add the blueberries and raspberries and press them down slightly.
5. Chop the chocolate and divide it among the bowls.
6. Put them in the oven for 15 minutes.

Enjoy your meal!

*A guide to the variety of chocolates available

The slightly bitter, intense, pure flavor of the 70% dark chocolate creates a nice balance in the dish, which is otherwise dominated by the fresh and sweet taste of the berries. It offers the chocolate flavor we’re looking for without an overpowering bitter aftertaste. For many people, this is the perfect middle ground among dark chocolates.

Do you love a bitter, rich chocolate flavor and want to really bring it out? Then an 80% chocolate is a great choice. If you eat dark chocolate more often, you’ll naturally learn to overlook the bitterness and appreciate the chocolate’s true flavor. This isn’t necessarily something you need to schedule in your calendar, but if you occasionally incorporate a darker variety of chocolate into your recipes, you might even find this dish tastes better with 80% dark chocolate a year from now.

White chocolate has a completely different flavor than dark chocolate, but it will also be delicious in this dish. The combination of white chocolate with soft fruits, such as strawberries, is a world-famous winning combination. If you prefer this version, I’d say, “Go for it!”

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend milk chocolate right away because it’s quite sweet and, in this sweet dish, tends to fade into the background rather than really adding a new dimension of flavor to the whole dish. But don’t worry if this is the only chocolate you have on hand. You can still make the dish with it, and it will still be very tasty. Just keep in mind that all these different types of chocolate have distinct flavors and pair perfectly with other ingredients.

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Sources:

1.Raspberry. (n.d.). Fresh Harvest.https://www.verseoogst.nl/producten/framboos

2. Blueberry(n.d.). Fresh Harvest.https://www.verseoogst.nl/producten/blauwe-bes#:~:text=When%20in%20season,Chile%20and%20New%20Zealand%20are%20available.