Easy Vegan Flapjack Recipe With Secret Crunch | Thinly Spread (2024)

FAQs

Why are my flapjacks too crunchy? ›

Over mixing: Over mixing the ingredients can cause the gluten in the flour to become overdeveloped, which can make the flapjacks tough and crumbly. Over cooking: If you cook your flapjacks for too long, they may become dry and fall apart.

When you overcook a flapjack, the golden syrup dries out and it becomes crumbly. An undercooked flapjack will have a raw doughy texture that doesn't hold its shape. Be sure you are cooking your flapjacks for 25 minutes on 180°C/160° Fan, 350°F, Gas 4 for the perfect chewy bake!

cold cutting might well be the solution! I also find mine hold together better if when I'm melting the butter sugar and syrup bit, I let it bubble for a minute. These are good tips! I've had problems with flapjacks being a pile of (delicious) crumbs, and I cant believe it's the recipe as Nigella is usually so reliable!

Too crumbly - oats too large or too many additions if you're adding nuts and fruit etc, use the small cheap oats, or grind them with a pestle and mortar. Also flatten the mixture down well in the tin. Rock hard! - baked too long, when the flapjacks come out of the oven they should still be bubbling a little.

For me, too much golden syrup makes them hard to bite through and dunking is simply not an option with flapjacks. Golden syrup can also make flapjacks sickly sweet. Cooking times and oven temperature are important.

Use as a crumble topping for fruit, yogurt, ice cream. Or sundae - layers of fruit, yogurt and crumble. Or custard.

Do you cut flapjacks when they're hot or cold? Mary Berry suggests allowing the flapjacks to cool slightly before removing them from the tin and cutting them. I personally find it a bit easier to wait until they have cooled completely and hardened before removing them.

Flapjacks contain high levels of sugar, syrup and butter, meaning it shouldn't be mistaken as a food that has many health benefits but rather as a delicious treat to have in moderation.

Press evenly into the baking tray and bake on a high shelf in the oven for 15 minutes. The flapjack will still feel soft. Leave to cool in the tray for 5 minutes and then lift the baking paper up and out of the tray to cool completely. Cut into bars and enjoy!

4 Spread the mixture out, pressing it out evenly with the back of the spoon. 5 Bake for 25 minutes until golden. After five minutes cooling, press the flapjacks with something heavy and flat (this compresses them and stops them falling apart).

How do you bind flapjacks? ›

Butter and syrup are the binding agents that help hold flapjacks together, meaning you end up with deliciously chewy, buttery slices.

Adding flour helps make them chewy and soft. If you missed the flour, that could be the reason. If they do turn hard, leave them in the open air for a few hours to help soften them a little. TIP: You can also store them with a slice of bread to keep them soft, or to help soften hard oat bars.

On every product page, you will find the shelf-life listed for each flapjack. The general rule, however, is that if the flapjack is covered in fudge, it will last you 2 months, probably more. Our fruity or cake-topped flapjacks and the brownie and bakewell flapjacks have a shelf life of 3 weeks.

If it has a 'Use By' date, then it usually means it'll go off soon after that date and you probably wouldn't want to eat it. If it has a 'Best Before' date then that just means that it'll be at its 'best' before that date. Eating it afterwards is usually fine, just not as fresh tasting.

Your flapjack will not look completely baked when you remove it from the oven. Due to the nature of the ingredients, they will still be quite melt-y, but don't worry – it will set as it cools down.

Adding flour helps make them chewy and soft. If you missed the flour, that could be the reason. If they do turn hard, leave them in the open air for a few hours to help soften them a little. TIP: You can also store them with a slice of bread to keep them soft, or to help soften hard oat bars.

If your flapjacks appear to be extremely crumbly when cutting, score the top of the bake immediately and put them in the fridge or freezer for a short period to firm up. When you are pressing the mixture into the tin before baking, it's important to pack the mixture in tightly.

Would be inclined to try a syrup and melted butter mix and to put the result into the fridge to chill - bit like cheesecake base. Good luck!!

Bake in the oven for approx 30 mins or until it starts to go golden. When you take it out, it will look like the mix is runny – this is normal. Leave on a flat, heatproof surface too cool. When nearly cool, slice into 8 and leave to cool completely.