Orange, fig and sultana flapjacks

The sunny warmth of orange zest combined with dried figs makes me dream of a childhood holiday spent walking through Tunisian orange groves and riding on humpy bumpy camels. Like all flapjacks these are easy peasy and no one could possibly feel sad when chowing down on one of these energy-giving squares.

INGREDIENTS

250g salted butter, plus extra for greasing

225g soft dark brown sugar

150g golden syrup

1 orange, finely zested

500g rolled oats

100g dried figs, chopped

150g sultanas

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 25 x 20 cm tin. Melt the butter, sugar, syrup and orange zest in a large saucepan over a medium heat. The aim is to dissolve all the ingredients so that they are smooth, but to not lose any volume through boiling so be careful not to overheat. Add the oats, figs and sultanas and stir well until evenly coated. Tip into the prepared tin and use a piece of greaseproof paper to flatten the top and make sure the flapjack is evenly distributed in the tin. Bake for 40 minutes until the edges start to brown. Whilst still warm in the tin, score into 12 squares. Allow to cool completely before cutting along the score lines.

IDEAS FOR ZESTLESS ORANGE

Squeeze the juice and simply drink it straight up – or mix with another fresh juice like mango or apple for a breakfast vitamin C hit. Or squeeze, measure the juice in millilitres and add the same amount in grams of caster sugar, then heat in a pan until the sugar dissolves and use while still warm to drizzle over freshly baked cupcakes for easy sticky orange drizzles. Or simply use as a marinade for chicken breasts along with a little soy, freshly grated ginger and honey, and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes until the juices run clear.

#normalmum #orange #fig #sultana #flapjacks #oats