Some of my earliest memories involve flapjacks, or as we call them in my family, “horse-cakes”. I assume the latter is a reference to the oats often fed to horses, but regardless of the origin, they have been a staple in my family home for as long as I can remember. The best flapjacks I’ve ever eaten are my mum’s and she sent me the recipe she uses (Sam Stern’s) for this test, as well as some key tips that I’ve incorporated into my date and coconut iteration.
There appears to be two main camps when it comes to flapjack preferences: chewy and crunchy. I much prefer the chewy sort, which is easy to achieve with the combination of butter, sugar and golden syrup. If, however, you prefer your flapjacks crunchy, you can achieve this simply by baking at a higher temperature and for slightly longer. A shallower baking tray is also conducive to a crunchier flapjack, while a deeper tray will produce a chewier version.
The basic ingredients for flapjacks are butter, sugar, golden syrup and rolled oats – similar to the Sam Stern recipe you can see in the picture (top left). To keep things interesting, though, I’ve included a chocolate version (by Victoria Glass), Meera Sodha’s vegan no-bake variation, Sohla El-Waylly’s Banana Nut Breakfast Bars, Nigel Slater’s fruit and oat flapjacks and Anna Jones’ recipe, which features carrot and apple.
Oats
It can be hard to choose the right type of oats for flapjacks. Too coarse and they won’t soak up the butter/sugar mixture and the flapjacks will be oily. Too fine and the flapjacks will turn out quite dry and crumbly – more like a biscuit texture. Even within the “rolled oats” category, there is a whole range of different textures available. I find jumbo oats too coarse, unless used in conjunction with another, finer oat. I would definitely steer clear of any oats branded “instant”, which are often milled too finely, or blended with milk powders and other additives. Three of the recipes tested here called for “porridge oats”, which I think is a good indicator to look for – anything you would ordinarily use to make porridge should work. Flahavans Progress Oatlets is a good option.
Sweetness
Brown sugar is a popular sweetener for flapjacks and it gives a lovely rich caramel flavour. Three of the recipes (Sodha, El-Waylly and Jones) skip the sugar entirely, choosing to derive sweetness from honey, golden syrup or maple syrup (or in Sodha’s case, brown rice syrup). A key ingredient in flapjacks is some sort of inverted sugar (such as golden syrup) or an alternative, such as honey or maple syrup. This helps to achieve the chewy, sticky texture that, in my opinion, is quintessential to flapjacks. I think golden syrup is the best option, however, honey works well too as a less-processed alternative.
Fat
The basic flapjack recipe (Stern’s), as well as Victoria Glass’ and Nigel Slater’s versions, use butter, which contributes to both texture and flavour. Meera Sodha and Anna Jones both opt for coconut oil, which works well as a vegan alternative, though the result is a lot less decadent. It’s worth noting that coconut oil has a much lower melting point than butter, so these flapjacks will be softer at room temperature. Sohla El-Waylly’s banana nut breakfast bars are entirely dairy-free and the fat comes from olive oil and peanut butter. Although the result is delicious (and vegan friendly, depending on whether or not you use honey), the texture is distinctly different from a traditional flapjack and more similar to a biscuit or cake.
Additions
Flapjacks work well with most dried fruit, nuts and seeds. I’m all for wholesome additions, but I do think that it’s a shame when the fruit/nuts/seeds start to detract from the flavour and texture of the flapjack. In my opinion, flapjacks are meant to be a treat, not a health food, and the priority therefore should be making them as delicious as possible – which can involve the addition of dates and coconut, for example, but preferably will not omit butter and golden syrup. I actually really liked Victoria Glass’ chocolate flapjacks, which had cocoa powder and chocolate chips (added after the mixture had been allowed to cool to room temperature).
For my own recipe, I wanted to keep the texture similar to my favourite flapjacks: chewy and slightly crisp around the edges. For a slightly exotic twist, however, I’ve added dates and coconut, which I can’t claim make them any healthier, but perhaps make them slightly more acceptable as a breakfast snack. These would also work perfectly in lunchboxes!
Recipe: date and coconut flapjacks
