Coconut Flapjacks with Pecan Nuts, Raisins and Salted Chocolate
With a crispy top and chewy under layer, these oaty, buttery flapjacks are fully loaded with coconut, pecan nuts and raisins. They are then topped with a thick layer of milk chocolate, some sea salt and roasted pecan nuts. Utterly addictive, they are ideal as an energy boost and special treat to keep you going during a tough day at work, a long hike or bike ride in the mountains or simply a delicious treat with a cup of tea or coffee, to get you through the day.
Makes 9, 12 or 16 - depending on size!
Ingredients
Base:
- 50g pecan nuts, chopped, plus 16 whole pecan nuts
- 140g unsalted butter
- 110g demerara sugar
- 110g golden syrup
- ¼ plus ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 125g rolled porridge oats
- 125g jumbo wholegrain rolled oats
- 50g desiccated coconut
- 50g raisins
Topping:
- 200g milk chocolate, chopped
- sea salt, to taste
- whole toasted pecan nuts
Instructions
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Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
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Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3 (fan 150°C) and line a 20cm/8inch square baking tin with baking parchment.
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Scatter the 16 whole pecan nuts on a baking tray and roughly chop the remainder.
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Gently melt the butter, sugar, syrup and fine salt in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved.
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Stir in the oats, coconut, chopped nuts and raisins and mix thoroughly. Ensure that all the dry ingredients are all covered in the syrup mixture.
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Tip into the lined baking tray and level with the back of a spoon or spatula, making sure you have pushed the mixture into all the corners. Push any raisins, poking out of the top, into the mixture to prevent them burning whilst cooking.
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Put the whole pecan nuts in the oven on the lower shelf, and the flapjacks on the upper shelf. Cook for nuts for 8 minutes and the flapjacks for 20 minutes, until lightly golden. Remember they will continue to cook after they come out of the oven.
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Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Use the baking parchment overhang to lift the flapjacks out of the tin; leave to cool on a wire rack.
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When the flapjacks have cooled, melt the chocolate. Chop it, if necessary, and then melt carefully in the microwave. (See Recipe Notes for details.) Pop the flapjacks back in the tin and top with the melted chocolate.
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Place the toasted pecan nuts in the centre of each flapjack and sprinkle over some sea salt flakes, to taste.
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When the chocolate has set, use a sharp knife to cut into 9, 12 or 16 squares, depending on how large you would like them to be.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- large saucepan
- chopping board and knife
- baking tray for the pecan nuts
- 20cm/8inch cake tin lined with baking parchment, for the flapjacks
- Jug/bowl for melting the chocolate
Be very careful melting the chocolate. Chocolate can be very difficult to work with. You can overheat it very easily and the mixture will go grainy. When this happens, there is no way to resolve it I’m afraid!
Microwave: I give the chocolate a minute in the microwave, take it out and stir it well, then let it sit for a few minutes to see if it continues melting sufficiently to melt all the chocolate. If not, I then continue with the microwave but in 10 – 15 second bursts.
Bain Marie: if you do not have a microwave, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Heat until the chocolate is very nearly melted then take it off the heat and take the bowl off the saucepan. Be very careful not to burn yourself as the bowl will be hot and steam will escape from the saucepan. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes for the residual heat to melt the remainder of the mixture. Again, be careful not to over-heat.
Use the correct size tin:
Flapjacks are surprisingly quick and easy to make and use only a handful of ingredients. The key to ensuring a good texture is to be specific when weighing out the ingredients, cooking them in the correct size tin (20cm/8in square tin) and not over-cooking them.