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My Quest for the Perfect Flapjack Recipe

Searching for Chewy Louis

         I love the idea of delicious tasting cakes that are actually good for you; flapjacks should be in this category but I find that commercial ones are always too sweet and drenched in palm oil, which just tastes greasy and smacks of mass-produced food. So, guided only by my intuition and maps left by previous travellers (in recipe books) I set out on a voyage of discovery - to find the Holy Grail of the perfect flapjack. I named this mythical piece of confectionary Chewy Louis because alongside taste, chewyness is what makes a flapjack really special. A flapjack that is not chewy is like a ball with no bounce.
         As many of you will know, flapjacks are made of oats, some form of fat and sugar and usually some extra ingredient to add character and taste. But within this simple formula are so many variables that it is easy to get it wrong, and the difference between a wrong flapjack and a Chewy Louis is immense. Despite following recipes closely (apart from replacing all the sugar they added with honey) my first attempts produced heavy, dry, tasteless oaty bricks. But each batch taught me new skills, insights and tricks which gradually brought my flapjacks closer and closer to my ideal of a Chewy Louis. I believe I have found the secret of the perfect flapjack and, fellow seeker,  I will share it with you now.

The Ingredients

The Oats It’s definitely worth using Organic, there is more flavour.

The sweetness Rather than sugar, I’ve tried Rice syrup (its got a lovely taste but I found here it gets lost in the mix) and honey but best of all is Golden Syrup. Prise open the tin with a spoon handle and sniff... if you are of a certain age this may bring back a lot of childhood memories (Can I lick the spoon?) ...but back to the recipe.

How to get the chewyness My early attempts were quite hard to digest and not chewy at all. I tried to compensate by adding more syrup but this is not the answer. Then in a flash of inspiration it hit me, soak the oats first. None of the recipes I saw did this - perhaps it wouldn’t work, maybe it was a crazy idea. There was only one way to find out; I had to try it. Eureka - it worked! I soaked once in water but have since used Rice milk (flavoured with vanilla) which helps make them more creamy and adds a lovely, subtle taste.

The fat For taste butter is best but the huge amount used in the recipes I saw made the results too rich. I use half butter, half sunflower margarine and about half of they amount of fat they recommended.

The ‘extra’ This is where your own taste and creativity comes in. So far I’ve used a bag of organic fruits of the forest called wonderberries. They add another level to the chewyness, as well as flavour and healthiness.

How much to make Even when left in sealed Tupperware tubs, flapjacks don’t last that long; they do dry out and the vital chewy factor diminishes with time. I wasted a lot by making more than we could eat before they passed their best. So it depends how many people are going to eat them but don’t plan on them lasting a whole week.

To make enough for two people to last 4 or 5 days

The Method