Revealed: The secret to flapjacks that don’t fall apart (2024)

FAQs

Revealed: The secret to flapjacks that don’t fall apart? ›

Cool these flapjacks completely in the tin.

Sprinkle with a tiny bit of sea salt. 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).

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.

This is entirely up to you. Golden syrup is the chewiness activator in a flapjack recipe, so if you want extremely chewy results, add an extra half a tablespoon to this recipe, with 5g less caster sugar. When the flapjacks are pale golden and still very soft to the touch, remove them from the oven.

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

Why are my Flapjacks Hard? Over-boiling the sugar, butter and syrup, is one possible reason for flapjacks being so hard. Simmering the butter-sugar-syrup mixture on low heat is better. Adding flour helps make them chewy and soft.

I find it best to store flapjacks in the fridge so that they stay firm. You can also store them in an air-tight container in a cupboard but they may break apart more easily. They will keep for 10 days in the fridge. I find in Winter, they are fine stored in a cupboard, but in Summer, they need to go in the fridge.

Put it in the oven for 20-25 minutes. It should look a bit runny still, because it will keep cooking in the tin for another five minutes. Leave it to cool for ten minutes and then cut it into 12 pieces.

Not to overbake!

When you first take them out of the oven they will look slightly wet and bubbly on the top. This is completely normal and as soon as they cool the bubbles will set and the mix will almost look glazed over. This is exactly what we want. If you overbake, the flapjacks they will turn out hard and crumbly.

The lumps form because flour contains gluten, a sticky substance that activates when it gets wet and mixed. If gluten is over-mixed it becomes tough, rubbery, and unappetizing.

How long will homemade flapjacks keep? ›

Run a knife round the edge to release the flapjack, leave for 5 minutes, then mark into bars or squares. Leave in the tin until nearly cold before cutting into pieces and removing to a wire rack. The flapjacks will keep in an airtight tin for up to 10 days.

More fat (butter) is the answer. I use gluten free oats as some of my children are Coeliac and I always had problems with flapjacks being far too hard. I found that increasing the amount of butter over the recipe amount made a lot of difference...

While flapjacks is an informal nickname for pancakes, some people may use the terms hotcakes and griddlecakes to refer to specific types of pancakes. In the UK, the word flapjack refers to something entirely different—a baked good made from oats that resembles a granola bar.

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!

The larger "jumbo" (old fashioned) oats tend to give a crumblier flapjack as they don't seem to bind so well. If the mixture continues to be crumbly then you may like to increase slightly the amount of golden syrup in the mixture.

​Sogud Ltd is recalling various gluten-free flapjack products because they contain gluten which is not mentioned on the label. This means the product is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to gluten.

Leave in the tin until nearly cold before cutting into pieces and removing to a wire rack. The flapjacks will keep in an airtight tin for up to 10 days.

Make sure your flapjack is completely cool before you try and remove it from the tin. If it's still warm, it will stick to the greaseproof paper. As this is a chewy flapjack recipe, the middle of the flapjack can be a little sticky when you cut it.

I made flapjack today, greased the tin et voila, no sticking. You're either cooking too long or miscalculating ingredients. I don't use paper (have had similar experiences) - juts goes straight in a greased tin. The recipe is important too.