Carrot Cake Flapjack

It's everything I've ever wanted

Hi guys,

What a roller coaster it has been over the past couple of weeks for the UK. It’s all been a bit manic really (lots of political poop) and as a result I think many people have been left in a weird sort of dazed state, like waking up after being drugged at the dentist – everything is a little surreal and hilarious but at the same time tears are imminent.

Basically, Britain voted to leave the European Union which in a nut shell means that we are going to attempt to go it alone and set up our own trade deals etc. As part of the 48% that voted to remain, at first I was pretty annoyed by this result mainly because I don’t tend to like people with far right-wing/somewhat nationalist views and don’t particularly feel comfortable with them having a role in the running the country. Also without a place in the common market, how am I going to have year-round access to asparagus?! Oh well, we will have to see what happens. I don’t want to get too political on here; it’s taken me a good few days and a LOT of cute pictures of cats on the internet to calm down as it is. It may be possible that I jump ship to somewhere like Australia or Canada in the next few years if things go south though.

Watch this space.

In other news England managed to leave Europe twice in one week as we also got knocked out of the UEFA cup by Iceland. Now, I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to the football (15 love?) but according to my brother, Iceland have a population about the same size as England’s city of Leicester and have only one professional player in their team, therefore even I have reached the conclusion that we suck at the football – all of the football.

Finally to cap it all off, one of my favourite characters bit the dust in the season 6 finale of Game of Thrones on Monday.

L

R.I.P. Margaery Tyrell  - officially the hottest thing in Westeros.  

Yes- despite the poor turn of events, the puns have remained. Sorry, not sorry!

Life hasn’t all been doom and gloom though, the parents came up to Essex for a visit as it was dad’s 50^th birthday on Thursday and with them they also brought the dogs. Further to this, it also meant getting a takeaway and spending the evening relaxing and watching the TV.  Puppies + Thai food + TV = a vast improvement in mood.

Taking all of the past few week’s events into consideration, I thought it appropriate today to share a recipe that can be called upon when in need of either comfort or for a reason to celebrate. A hybrid dish if you will, featuring two of my favourite things in the entire world…

…Carrot cake flapjacks.

These easy baked goods are just as indulgent as they sound yet are equally nutritious and much lighter compared to traditional flapjacks.

How can flapjack be healthy? I’m sure you’re probably not asking. Well despite the usual variety relying on over half a cup of butter, tonnes of refined sugar and glugs of golden syrup, a few tactical substitutions (my brother stated that the England football team should have also made some of these) can result in a much more nutrient rich and even tastier treat - All of the decadent taste with none of the type 2 diabetes.

It’s quite simple really:

Butter is swapped for unsweetened apple sauce, almond butter and coconut oil, refined sugar is replaced with truvia and golden syrup is benched for maple/fruit syrup. The oats can stay because they’re awesome #oatlife and we also chuck in some carrot because vegetables. A few extra optional add-ins such as walnuts, dried fruits and desiccated coconut really amp up the nutrition making for a treat that is full of fibre and energy.

These flapjacks have the classic, chewy, buttery soft texture as the originals but with the added goodness of an occasional nutty crunch and/or gooey raisin. The delicate spice blend of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg work perfectly together (unlike England’s football team) to make this treat decadently warming which not necessarily a bad thing since despite being June, the weather has returned to its usual attitude of confused grey angst.

This recipe is also dairy free, egg free, vegan and gluten free (if using certified gluten free oats) so really anyone can enjoy it. There is no excuse, make the damn flapjack!

Whether this week has been good or bad for you, I encourage you to try this out. Honestly it’s so easy and is soooo worth it. I’m going to make some for my birthday in November, but I’m also going to make about 60 batches in between now and then so…

…gainz?

Happy baking!

Carrot Cake FlapJack

Makes 9-12

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup shredded carrot (2-4 carrots depending on size – I found using a food processor was the easiest way to shred the carrot)
• Optional add-ins: ¼ cup dried raisins, ¼ cup walnuts, a sprinkling of desiccated coconut for topping

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp almond/cashew butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce (or baby food – apple puree)
• 1/3 cup truvia (technically dry but it goes in with the wet)
• 2-3 tbsp fruit/maple syrup

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
• Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and stir together well.
• In a saucepan over a low heat, combine all of the wet ingredients and stir until melted together.
• Once fully combined, pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir together.  Lots of stirring going on here, it’s probably the hardest part of this recipe.
• Line a baking dish (I used an 8” by 8” pan) with baking paper and spray with cooking spray before spooning in your flapjack batter and pressing it down to form an even layer. At this point, if you want to sprinkle over some desiccated coconut, go right ahead.
• Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
• Remove, allow to cool for as long as you can wait (I never can and as a result often suffer from third degree burns in the mouth area) and then eat!