Cherry Bakewell Flapjacks ( Vegan, Gluten-Free)
VEGAN II GLUTEN FREE II DAIRY FREE II SOY FREE II SESAME FREE II NIGHTSHADE FREE II FISH FREE II EGG FREE II SHELLFISH FREE
Who doesn’t love a flapjack over here in the UK? They are usually made with lots of sugar and golden syrup, which tastes yummy however, it's very calorific and unhealthy. I agree with a little bit of what you fancy does you a world of good, but I wanted to create a flapjack recipe I could eat for breakfast that wasn’t as sweet but made with cleaner ingredients.
This is a great snack to have on hand for your little kiddies too. These flapjacks have a nutty flaky texture but gooey and fruity on the inside and taste incredibly light, which is great because you can eat more!
This recipe can be made vegan by using agave instead of honey. Have fun making and eating these bad boys. Pop me a comment and let me know what you think.
Oats
However, if this recipe needs to be gluten-free, then swap for gluten-free oats; however, a side-note, oats are gluten-free. It’s just that companies can’t state gluten-free because of the manufacturing processes.
Sweetener
I love to use raw local honey for this recipe, I have just used organic honey this time, but other sweeteners you can use could be coconut blossom nectar, agave, brown rice syrup.
Coconut sugar
I love the addition of coconut sugar. It tastes like butterscotch and is such a great addition to recipes as it adds such a beautiful caramel flavour. It can be found in supermarkets or in health food stores.
Its produced in the Phillippines and elsewhere in South East Asia and is made from the coconut palm tree's sap. It essentially the same as palm sugar and jaggery, which can be made from palm sap or sugar cane. I like to use coconut sugar in cookie or cake recipe, so have fun with it.
Ingredients
I always make my own jam since my version is so quick and healthy. Don’t be tempted to swap the chia jam for regular shop-bought jam, its the chia seeds that bind and stick this recipe together. I did not use any sweetener in the jam recipe since the cherries are quite sweet anyway.
However, if you find it’s not sweet enough, you can add a few tablespoons of sweetener. I made the jam first cooled it down and then used it in this recipe. You can also store the jam in the fridge for a week and add this to yoghurt or sourdough toast. I used smooth almond butter for this recipe as I also add chopped nuts to the flapjack, however if you prefer really nutty recipes then, knock yourself out.
1.5 hours cooking & prep time -
12 portions
Step by step
Recipe
Cherry chia jam
400 g cherries ( I used frozen cherries)
25 g chia seeds
50 ml of water
Flapjack
185 g coconut oil
100 g honey or sweetener of your choice ( see notes)
3 tbsp almond extract
375 g oats ( gluten-free if needed)
35 g coconut sugar
75 g chopped almonds
3 tbsp smooth almond butter
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tin preferably 8’’ x 10’’ with greaseproof paper or baking parchment.
To make the jam add the ingredients to a small saucepan and cook on low to medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick. Once cooked and cooled blend in a Nutri bullet or similar till smooth and leave to the side till needed.
Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan with the essence and honey, then add to the rest of the flapjack ingredients.
Add half the flapjack mixture to the bottom of the prepared baking tin and pat down evenly with the back of a spoon, then spoon on the chia jam, then top with the remaining flapjack mixture and pat down so the mixture is even.
Bake in the oven in the middle for 35 minutes, it should be golden brown, please leave to cool completely before portioning otherwise it will crumble and fall apart.
Variations
Instead of using cherries, you could use any fruit of your choice. Soft fruits work best, like raspberries or apricots. You could add any other nuts to this recipe if you prefer.
If your find cooking for your allergies and intolerances challenging. I also teach cookery classes and can do this in person or via zoom. Contact me here for a tailor-made class to suit your requirements.
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