Blog, I have neglected you of late. And for that I am sorry. You see, there are so many things on our family’s social horizon to participate in / organise and I can’t cope! In chronological order: close friend’s wedding; son’s birthday party; hen do; stag do; daughter’s birthday; OUR OWN WEDDING; honeymoon; family party after the wedding… arrrgghh!! I don’t want to seem ungrateful, really, it’s just a bit, well, head frazzling. I have a long list of things in my head, and every day I do get further down the list, but blogging always seems to be at the bottom of the pile. Something’s gotta give, as they say. And it’s been the blog this past fortnight. Anyway, I have finally managed to sit down and type so let’s crack on…
I love traditional flapjack, the squidgy, very buttery kind. I only wish I could dream up a recipe to better the simple, heavenly combination of golden syrup, butter and oats. I haven’t managed it, yet anyway; but this comes close. It is a healthier recipe, containing 100% natural and good for you maple syrup instead of golden syrup, and also lots of coconut, which is rich in iron and fibre. The addition of garam masala sounds unusual but it really works, in fact next time I will double the amount to a full teaspoon so feel free to go for it if the idea appeals. It adds a sweet warmth; think chai latte rather than chicken balti!
You could make this without the raw coconut oil, but it does add extra coconut flavour and it’s very good for you too. Also if you can’t get coconut flakes you could use desiccated coconut or even fresh. Try to use jumbo rather than standard porridge oats, as they are better for baking I think (the standard is too finely milled).
To make 16 squares:
125g salted butter
5 tablespoons of maple syrup
220g jumbo oats
25g coconut flakes
1 tablespoon of raw coconut oil
100g unrefined demerara sugar
1/2 – 1 teaspoon of garam masala (dependant on taste)
- Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm cake tin.
- Melt all ingredients (wet first then add dry) over a medium heat and stir combine.
- Press into your prepared tin.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Let it cool completely in tin, before tipping out and cutting into squares.
