Summer fruits flapjacks – A delightful mix of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants, sandwiched between crunchy oats in this easy to follow flapjack recipe.
I have a reputation in our house for only being able to make sweet things. The other day Charlotte said to Daniel (our 4 year old son) that Daddy was making dinner. The response was a quizzical look, ‘but Mummy, Daddy can only make puddings’. I frowned and reminded him that I make a mean beans on toast! Anyway, not wishing to disappoint, I put together a seasonal flapjack recipe.
Earlier this year I made apple crumble flapjacks. I’m a huge fan of the apple, raisin and cinnamon combination. In fact one of the highlights of my visits to America has been how much they use this combination for not only puddings but also in breakfast stuff. However, with the sun out here in North Wales, I thought I would make a summer version. Daniel and I therefore set out on an expedition to our local woods (OK, in reality supermarket) to seek out summer fruits.
So what summer fruits to choose? With Wimbledon being on at the time there were strawberries everywhere so including those in the flapjack was a no-brainer. Also on prominent display were raspberries and blackcurrants and, given they were on special offer, it would have been rude not to include them. Finally, after a discussion between blueberries and blackberries we opted for the latter as Daniel hadn’t had them before (that might be something to do with the amount of black dye contained within them!). Of course as we paid for them the rain started and we got soaked on the way home!
The idea of this recipe is that you create three layers. Two layers of flapjack that sandwich the fruit in the middle. You can therefore make this recipe with any fruit (or other filling) you fancy. If you were feeling lazy there is nothing to stop you using jam in the middle. The fruit I had chosen needed to be heated to remove some of the liquid and to make it mushy, but not too much because you still want to capture the flavour. Therefore in texture it is very similar to a rich fruity jam.
‘Daddy these flapjacks are deeeeelicious’. I beamed with pride, trying to avoid noticing that bits of flapjack were falling all over the floor. ‘Daddy did you know too much sugar is bad for you’. Hmmm, school is teaching him too well! I can see he is going to have to move schools (or alternatively I am going to have to get back in the kitchen and design a healthy flapjack recipe…).
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Summer Fruits Flapjacks
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g strawberries
- 150 g raspberries
- 150 g blackberries
- 150 g blackcurrants
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 100 g light brown muscovado sugar
- 500 g oats
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat the over to 190ºC/170ºC fan.
- Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Remove the stems from the blackcurrants and strawberries
- Put the fruit (600g in total) in a large pan and cook on a low heat until the fruit is soft (around 5 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent it burning.
- Meanwhile put the butter (250g), golden syrup (4 tbsp) and light brown muscovado sugar (100g) into a large pan and cook on a low heat until the butter has melted, stirring occasionally.
- Once the butter has melted, remove from the heat, add the oats (500g) and stir until fully combined.
- Once the fruit has softened, drain off the excess liquid and mash it a few times so it is mushy but still has quite a few lumps. The fruit should now look like a rich fruity jam in texture.
- Place half of the oat mixture into the pre-lined tray and push down firmly to form an even layer - you must push down firmly to ensure that the flapjack doesn't fall apart when you remove it from the tin later.
- Add the fruit to the tin and spread to form an even layer.
- Add the remaining oat mixture and press firmly into an even layer.
- Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes until the flapjacks are golden in colour and slightly darker around the edges.
- When the flapjacks are cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
- Once cooled, slice into 12 equal sized slices.
- Serve.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Gluten-Free (please check your oats are gluten-free as some contain gluten due to the manufacturing process used)
- Egg-Free
- Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
I’m sharing this recipe with #TastyTuesdays with Honest Mum, #RecipeOfTheWeek with A Mummy Too and #SundaySweets with Gym Bunny Mummy.
Jan says
These are incredible! I used frozen summer fruits as that’s what I had in. I heated them first to lose some of the liquid. I will try these again with other flavours. I also tried some with a yoghurt topping which is half quanity natural yoghurt to melted white chocolate, it’s delicious either way!
Emma says
Hi Charlotte I have lots of blackberries to use up could I just use this one type of fruit here and if so would I just total up the fruit quantities and use equal amount of blackberry instead ? Also would a mix of blackberry and Apple work? Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Either of those is fine as long as you keep the weight of the fruit roughly the same as given in the recipe.
Jilian says
I made this with a bag of frozen summer fruits from the freezer , worked a treat , just defrosted, drained and gently mashed , so easy .
Great recipe, tastes fab , thankyou . A family family has been discovered .
Nikki says
I have no golden syrup, could i substitute honey for golden syrup? would the quantity still be the same as syrup?
these look lovely!
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it, but it should be fine.
Mayko says
2nd time I am making this as it’s just so delicious! And easy to make!
Kayleigh Childs says
I have just made these for my son. So easy to make. Taste delicious. Mine fell apart tho
The bottom layer amd the fruit were perfect
The top just breaks up. I pressed it firmly still broke up. I’m using this batch as like a fruit crumble with custard but would love to make these right so I can use them as finger food. Any tips would be great thanks xx
Charlotte Oates says
Were the flapjacks completely cool before you moved them from the tin? If you move them while they’re warm they tend to crumble.
Kayleigh Childs says
I let them cool but thinking about it they were still a little warm ish. I’ll leave them in the cupboard to go completely cold next time. Think I was too excited to try them lol. Thanks hun xx
L says
These look amazing but unfortunately costs sooo much for fresh fruit. Would this work with pre made jam as a cheaper alternative?
Charlotte Oates says
You could use definitely a layer of jam instead of the fruit.
Kayleigh Childs says
You could always use the frozen summerberries from the supermarket. I just used them and worked out perfectly. Its a couple of quid for 500g xx
Amy says
Really good – gooey and delicious!
Gemma says
These taste absolutely divine, a sort of flapjack sandwich of fruit! I like the slight bitter taste from the fruit that helps to offset the sweet flapjack.
Toni @ Gym Bunny Mummy says
Wow Charlotte these look incredible & your photography is just stunning!! Thanks so much for linking up to #SundaySweets, hope to see you back this week 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Toni. I’ve written a sweet post which I just need to put the finishing touches on so I should be over later x
HonestMum says
These look amazing and they’re pretty healthy too. Gorgeous photography as always too! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays x
Charlotte Oates says
They’ve got fruit and oats in which is definitely good on the healthy scale, but being stuck together with lots of butter, sugar and golden syrup probably damages their healthy credentials a little! I’ll see if I can get Jon to work on a properly healthy version for his next recipe!
Mel says
I don’t like flapjacks but the kids love them! I must make an effort to make some for my little monkeys. xx #TastyTuesdays
Charlotte Oates says
Yes you should – your poor deprived children!
jenny paulin says
oooh I saw these on IG and thought how scrumptious they looked! yummy x
Charlotte Oates says
I always wondered if anyone ever came over from Instagram, now I know 🙂
Becki says
Ha! I have the very same reputation! Although, I am the only one who cooks so I guess they can’t complain either way.
I love a good flapjack. These look gorgeous!
B x
Charlotte Oates says
Jon’s reputation is completely justified. I’m sure he could cook other things, he just chooses not to!