(The Ultimate) Flapjack

Flapjack – yum! Very easy to make, four ingredients, and only 30 minutes from start to finish. When you want something sweet with your afternoon tea, this hits the spot.

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Flapjack came to mind the other day when I got home after a hard day’s shopping. I thought I’d like something nice with a cup of tea but I didn’t want to spend long cooking, so I thought of flapjack.

It only takes half an hour from thought to plate and uses ingredients I keep in the cupboard.

Finding the right Flapjack recipe

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my recipe. I dug up a few recipes from my cookbooks and found a vast difference between the amounts of butter and sugar they used. I tried a couple of recipes but they weren’t right.

By then I had become rather focused on finding the ultimate flapjack recipe, so I figured I had to go the mother source – my mother’s recipe book. (Fortunately, I’ve scanned all her handwritten recipes.) Eventually, I came across the ultimate flapjack recipe.

Ingredients for Flapjack

Butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and oats are all you need.

Butter

I only use butter for cooking for two reasons – the flavour is better and I know what’s in it. I often buy a cheaper brand to cook with and I keep loads of it in the freezer.

Soft Brown Sugar

Dark or light – it doesn’t matter. Dark has a stronger flavour but you don’t really notice it.

Golden Syrup

Having a sweet tooth, I love golden syrup. Try it on oats with milk for breakfast! Although it’s more of a comfort food than a good breakfast, I have to say – and I don’t have it every day.

Most recipes measure golden syrup in tablespoons which is okay because the amount can usually vary a bit. I’ve put the weight in as well in case you like to be sure, but a bit more or less isn’t going to ruin your Flapjack.

The best way to weigh golden syrup is to put the tin on the scales and zero them. Then you will see the weight that you take out as a negative/minus number. Bear in mind that some sticks to the spoon, so use the spoon that you’ll use for mixing.

Oats

Rolled oats are what you need for Flapjack. Not jumbo oats and not oatmeal.

Salt and Ginger

Salt is a wonderful thing. Adding a good pinch to a sweet recipe, that might otherwise be a little bland, enhances the flavour. Try it!

A good pinch (or more) of ginger powder is my secret ingredient. Again, it adds a little flavour – but you can’t taste ginger. It’s just definitely better with than without it.

Crunchy or Chewy Flapjack?

My Mum likes her flapjack quite biscuity and crispy, whereas I prefer mine softer. Fortunately, this is easy to sort as the difference is only in the cooking time.

The first couple of times you make Flapjack, note the cooking time and see whether you want it crisper – longer time – or softer – shorter time.

What else do you need to make Flapjack?

• 20cm square traybake tin – Perfect for most small traybakes. I use this tin a lot!

If you like this…

…Why don’t you try:

• Cherry Flapjack
• Melting Moments
• Oaties

Stockists

20cm square traybake tin

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