Raspberry Flapjack

Bored with biscuits out of off of the cupboard? Want to eat a flapjack that will taste nothing like the dense sugar marathons that you can get in packets labelled ‘Mrs Futtocks’ home-baked country goodness treats’? Have you a spare half hour? I have the answer.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Skill level: easy
Makes: quite a few, depends how big you like your flapjack

Ingredients

• rolled oats – 250g
• butter – 50g
• brown sugar – 75g
• golden syrup – two large spoonfuls
• raspberries – 50g – mashed
• pinch o’ salt

Preheat oven to 22oC/gas mark 7. Grease a baking tin, depending on how thick you like your ‘jack, 24cm diameter should do it.

Mash the raspberries and set aside. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the sugar to the butter and heat until dissolved. Add the salt and golden syrup to the mix. Finally stir in the oats until well coated with the buttery sugar. (If you would prefer chocolatey flapjacks then break 100g of plain chocolate into 1cm chunks and add to the oat mix with a quick stir so the chocolate is distributed through but not too melted. Omit the raspberry element of the next stage, unless you want chocolate and raspberry flapjack, hmm…)

Put half the oat mixture into the baking tin. Spread the raspberry mash over the oats and then put the remaining oat mix on top.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden, before the tell-tale burn marks appear round the edges.

Remove from oven and leave to cool, the flapjack will crisp up once removed from oven.

Devour.

Verdict: Tasty oaty morsels with a raspberry treat in the middle. Extremely moreish. They do not last long, no matter how many you make.

Drink: A nice cup of tea.

Entertainment: Trying to persuade the nipper that she wants to lie in her jungle gym while I stuff my face.