Cocoa Flapjacks
Cocoa flapjacks loaded with sweet spices, cherries, raisins & orange zest is an easy and delightfully different way to take this classic bake.
Servings: 12
Calories: 331kcal
Ingredients
- 225 g Butter
- 2 tablespoon Golden syrup
- 110 g Soft light brown sugar
- 110 g Dark light brown sugar
- 300 g Rolled oats (not jumbo)
- 30 g Dried cherries
- 45 g Raisins
- 4 tbsp Cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Mixed Spice
- ¼ teaspoon Ground ginger
- Zest ½ orange
- 30 g White Chocolate (optional) for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 140C/ 275F/ GM 1 and grease & line a 20cm x 20 cm baking tin with baking parchment
- Cut the cherries in half then put them into a small heatproof bowl with the raisins and cover with hot water from a just-boiled kettle. Set aside
- Weigh out the oats, cocoa, orange zest and the spices into a bowl. Stir briefly
- Tip the butter, syrup and sugars into a heavy-based saucepan and put it over a medium heat to melt, stirring often. When the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved use a balloon whisk to gently bring the ingredients together until you have a thick, brown, evenly mixed liquid
- Drain the dried fruit then add them to the pan along with the oats. Stir until thoroughly combined
- Spoon the flapjack mixture into the prepared tin and spread it out. Use the back of a metal spoon to push the mixture into the edges and corners of the tin and to press the flapjack down so that it is nicely compact
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until golden. If, after 25 minutes, the cherries look as if they are about to catch & burn, lay a piece of foil loosely over the flapjack for the final 10 minutes of baking
- Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then, using a sharp knife, mark the flapjack into 9 or 12 squares. Let cool completely in the tin
- Once the flapjack is cold remove it from the tin and drizzle with melted chocolate (optional) then cut into squares and leave to set
- Once the chocolate has set, store the flapjack in an airtight container for up to 5 days
Notes
EXPERT TIPS
- Use small rolled oats rather than jumbo oats in this recipe to achieve the firm texture pictured. Jumbo flakes are harder to compress in the tin than regular ones and more prone to yielding crumbly flapjack
- Never use instant oats - these oats produce a mushy texture when cooked which is not ideal in this recipe
- Once the ingredients in the pan have melted and dissolved they do not automatically mix into each other. Being careful not to splash yourself with the hot ingredients use a handheld balloon whisk to bind the ingredients together before mixing in the oats. This step is vital to ensure that the ingredients blend with the oats in a uniform manner
- Pick a baking tin of appropriate size to ensure the mixture is not too thick or too thin. This chocolate flapjack recipe is suitable for a 20 x 20cm baking tin. It will produce 9-12 squares (depending how large you would like to cut them) each approximately 1 ½ cm deep
- Using a tin that is significantly smaller or larger will affect the depth of the flapjack and the necessary cooking time
- Bake for an extra 5 minutes if you prefer hard flapjack
- Don't raise the oven temperature to cook the flapjack quickly. A slow even bake is best to avoid a soggy middle
- Ten minutes before the recommended cooking time is up, check to ensure your flapjack is not cooking too quickly. It's a good idea to rotate the tin to ensure it bakes evenly and also to cover the top loosely with parchment or foil at this stage to ensure the fruit does not burn
- It is hard to tell by the colour when this chocolate flapjack is sufficiently baked. If the edges look firm but the centre of the tin looks a little loose still, it is ready. As the flapjack cools in the tin it will firm up
- Do not be tempted to cook until the centre is firm as by this stage the flapjack will be overbaked and hard once cold
- Firmly score the portions when hot but cut fully when cold - this is the best way to avoid the flapjack breaking up into irregularly shaped pieces and crumbling as it is cut
- If a thick chocolate top is preferred to the white chocolate drizzle, melt (or temper) 150g chocolate and spread over the top once the flapjack has cooled. Once set, use a warmed knife to cut through the chocolate without it shattering
- Make them vegan: use vegan block butter (not baking margarine or spread). The flapjack will be slightly less rich (as butter has a more pronounced flavour profile than non-dairy baking blocks) and I do recommend adding ¼ teaspoon salt to compensate for this.
- These cocoa flapjacks stay fresh for up to 5 days. Either wrap in foil or store in an airtight container at room temperature. There is no need to refrigerate it.
Nutrition
Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 558IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg
