At this time of year, it’s not hard to find brambles groaning with the weight of fruit. Blackberries are in abundance, and every time we go for a walk around our village the kids gorge on blackberries until they can’t eat any more.
Blackberries are a beautiful juicy fruit that is bursting with goodness, so I tend to let the kids eat as much as they want.
Perfect in crumbles, or made into jam, the humble blackberry is somewhat versatile!
As Callum adores flapjacks, and we find it hard to get any safe shop bought ones, he asked if I could make some with the blackberries we picked at the weekend.
Who was I to refuse? It sounded delicious!
Flapjacks are so easy to make, and once you’ve perfected your base, you can add pretty much anything to the recipe.
So, here’s Callum’s take on the classic flapjack, which has proven to be somewhat of a winner.
He was so desperate to eat them, I was only allowed to take a couple of photos. It means I will have to make another batch quickly, oh what a hardship! :)
You will need:
- 8oz (225g) demerara sugar
- 8oz (225g) dairy-free spread
- 10oz (275g) gluten free porridge oats
- 2 tbsp molasses/agave nectar/honey
- Punnet of blackberries (washed)
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/ 325°F/ Gas 3, and lightly grease a roasting tin/ brownie tin.
Place the demerara sugar, dairy-free spread and molasses/agave nectar/honey in a large saucepan, and slowly melt over a medium heat, remembering to stir regularly so the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
Then add the porridge oats to the saucepan and stir until everything is well combined.
Carefully pour half of the mixture into the prepared roasting tin, making sure you push the mixture into all of the corners. (NB: press down with the back of a spoon so that the top is level and flat).
Sprinkle the blackberries over the top.
Add the remainder of the porridge oats mixture over the top of the blackberries and gently press down to cover the blackberries.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for around 35-40 minutes, or until a light golden colour. Make sure you don’t over bake, or the flapjacks will become as hard as concrete!
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes, before marking into squares and leave to finish cooling in the tin.
Enjoy!
