Cherry and Coconut Flap-Jack

Flapjacks seem to be everywhere these days, but none of them ever seem to be close to the texture and flavour of the ones my Grandmother used to make. After doing a bit of searching on the web, I found some recipes which got me close to the ones she used to make. So easy to make, it's hardly even baking.

On the whole, my Grandmother's flapjacks would be the plain variety, and this recipe, without the Cherries and Coconut comes pretty close to how I remember them. However, since trying various commercial flapjacks, one combination that I like, even though it just wasn't a real flapjack, was Cherry and Coconut, and so this recipe is my interpretation, whilst trying to keep them nice and chewy at the same time.

These have been a hit the office and pub on a few occasions, although when I tried to do a dairy free version using Soya Butter for one of the guys, it really didn't work as well at all. The taste was OK, but they seemed to fall apart. More the texture of a commercial flapjack, than one that I remember as a child.

Recipe for Cherry and Coconut Flapjack

• 130g Unsalted Butter
• 80g Granulated White Sugar
• 40g Demerara Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Golden Syrup
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 300g Porridge Oats
• 70g Desiccated Coconut
• 200g Glacé Cherries (halved)

Gently melt the Butter, Sugars, Syrup and Golden Syrup together in a pan until you have a smooth mixture. In a bowl, mix the Oats and Coconut and Cherries, then mix in the Butter/Sugar mixture.

Line a tray (or in my case, Lasagne dish) with baking parchment, then add in the flapjack mixture, and flatten out. Bake in the oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes, until the top is nicely golden.

Leave to cool before removing from the tin. Use a sharp knife to cut into squares, ensure to wipe the blade between slices to help make each slice clean.