Apricot, Date & Chocolate Flapjack

These are mega-indulgent – packed with flavour and with a great dense texture. Rich and tasty to the extreme.

Need: A 20cm/8” square baking tin

Makes: 16 squares or 12 larger bars

Level: Easy

Time: Just over an hour plus cooling time

Ingredients

  • 175g/6oz Butter, Stork, Spreadable or a mixture
  • 175g/6oz Soft light brown sugar or Golden caster
  • 175g/6oz Golden syrup
  • 400g/14oz Porridge oats
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 75g/2½oz Apricots, chopped quite small
  • 75g/2½oz Dates, chopped quite small
  • 100g/3½oz White Chocolate, broken into small pieces
  • 100g/3½oz Milk or dark chocolate (for the topping)

Method

1. Butter and line the baking tray. Chop the apricots and dates. Break up the chocolate. Preheat the oven to 160C / Fan 140C / 325F / Gas 3.

2. In a large saucepan, melt together the butter, sugar and syrup. (Don’t allow the mixture to reach boiling point.) Stir regularly.

3. Measure the oats and other dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir well to mix.

4. When the sugar, butter and golden syrup have fully melted and mixed together, pour the hot mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to mix thoroughly.

5. Spoon the combined mixture into the prepared tin and press it down firmly and evenly.

6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 – 50 minutes. (It doesn’t need to bake until solid, it will firm up as it cools.)

7. While the flapjack is still warm, decide how many pieces you intend having and cut lines to half the depth using a serrated blade. When the block has cooled fully, cut all the way through and remove the flapjack pieces. (A metal dough scraper is ideal for this.)

8a. If you want a chocolate top layer, melt 100g of chocolate either in a bain marie or the micro-wave, using short blasts and regular stirring. The bottom of the flapjack slab will probably be flatter than the top, so carefully invert it. Pour on the melted chocolate and brush it evenly over the surface. Once the chocolate has set you can cut the slab into pieces.

8b. Or, if you prefer, just cut the slab into pieces and then brush the chocolate onto each piece individually.

Gallery 1

  • Chop the fruit quite small.
  • Fruit and chocolate mixed with the oats.
  • Dry ingredients added to the melted butter and mixed in.

Gallery 2

  • Press mixture in firmly. A plastic scraper is ideal.
  • Cut half way through while still warm.
  • Chocolate coating + lines made with a fork.

Click this link for more tasty traybake recipes. If flapjacks are what you love then here are two that I recommend you try: my Biscuit Based Flapjack With Jam & White Choc and my Blueberry and Orange Flapjack.

Please have a look at my site for lots of other great sweet and savoury recipes. If you’d like to make a comment or ask a question please do, via the contact page.

Happy baking everyone.

Ian