IT'S NOT TERRY'S, IT'S MINE.

Third festive bake ... chocolate orange flapjack!

Makes: At least 15 decent-sized squares.

Ingredients: 160g soft brown sugar, 200g butter, 500g oats, 120g golden syrup, 1 orange, 2 teaspoons of orange essence, 200g chocolate chips (or 200g chocolate hacked into small pieces), another 400g chocolate, and festive decoration stuff.

Time taken: Half an hour to make, 15 minutes to bake, 15 minutes for topping and decoration, and then quite a while to set (maybe an hour or so?).

Hi readers,

Just checking in Thursday-style (i.e. with low pep and tired eyes). Not sure about Thursdays, if I’m honest. What do you think? How’s your Thursday panning out? Hope it’s not too terrible. Nothing BAD's happened to me this Thursday. Nothing, specifically, to strike me down. It’s just not Friday (the best day of the week), is it?

And it’s been so long since it was last the weekend. Four days in the scale of a lifetime doesn’t seeeem a lot, but walking into work on Monday it’s like the weekend is OVER. Gone. To lands far far away. It’s a distant memory. Another lifetime. A different you. Left behind…

So my week really isn't going badly! On the contrary, I’ve been shopping for presents, and we had a chocolate meditation at yoga, and I’ve stuck to my plan to eat marginally better than normal for a few days. Go me! I suppose the weekends are just so much fun at the moment, what with Christmas festivities. It makes the weekdays seem grey in comparison.

BUT once Thursday’s out the way then life is looking preeetty rosy, I must say. There’s a cheese and wine night lined up for tomorrow (yessss!), my Mother Bear is taking me shopping to buy a present for ME this weekend. And me and Suzeroo are going to don Christmas jumpers for our December meet up, and have a festive feast together on Sunday. Can’t wait.

How about you, readers? What’s on the cards for the coming few days? Is it fine food and much merriment? With friends and the famalam?? Or are you still grafting ahead of your festive blow out, sorting shopping and decorating and wrapping? Either way – I hope your next few days are filled with joy and laughter and happiness! I sincerely do.

There aren’t many days left to enjoy of 2016, so I feel we should all start trying to make the most of every last one of them! Luckily, clever you, you’ve chosen to spent a few minutes of your day reading this blog post. A fine decision. Today I write to you, readers, to share a recipe that came into my life this last Sunday. ‘Twas truly a wonderful and unexpected surprise. Like the baby Jesus.

On Sunday I had a couple of the girls over for a cosy Christmas afternoon in. I turned on the tree during daylight hours and lit all my festive candles, and we put our PJs on and shunned the outside world for an afternoon. It was glorious. KatieKat brought her Love Actually DVD and HorseyHardy brought along ingredients for a festive bake… chocolate orange flapjack.

This recipe is favourite of KatieKat’s and HorseyHardy’s, I gather, borne from Christmas afternoons in of years gone by. And this flapjack BLEW ME AWAY, readers. Do you like Terry’s chocolate oranges? Do you like flapjack? Do you like baking? Do you like Christmas?

If you answered yes to any. single. one. of these questions then, I’m telling you, as a matter of urgency you need to get yourself to a shop for ingredients… and get your bake on.

Want to SIGNIFICANTLY improve your Thursday? Here’s how you can make your very own chocolate orange flapjack, in just 20 easy steps…

1.     Pour a boozy bev and heat your oven to 200C.

2.     Measure your butter, sugar and syrup into a pan, and melt together over a low heat.

3.     When melted into one buttery mix, remove from the heat.

4.     Add your oats to the pan and use a wooden spoon to stir them in, until all your oats are coated in the buttery mix.

5.     Use a grater to grate the zest from your orange into the pan.

6.     Then, chop your orange in half and squeeze all its juice into the pan.

7.     Add your 2 teaspoons of orange essence (the magic ingredient!) to the pan, and then stir everything together.

Put your antlers on and shake them!

8.     Once mixed, put the pan aside to cool a little. Top up your drink. Dance around! Sing as though you were Tina Turner! Shake that thang!

9.     Once the mix seems to have cooled itself down, add your chocolate chips and stirrrr these in so they’re well distributed throughout the flapjack mix.

10.  Spoon the mix into a baking tin and then use your spoon to press it down, until the flapjack mix is evenly spread about.

Podge it about to get an even thickness

11.  Carefully transport your flapjack mix into the oven, and leave to bake for 10-15 minutes until the flapjack turns golden brown on top and your house smells godly.

12.  In the meanwhile, get your pots washed and why not mull some wine? When you’re in your kitchen, with ten minutes to spare, in December… Mull. Some. Wine.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: If, like myself at the time of baking, you find yourself attempting a festive recipe but unable to drink alcohol – do not fear. KatieKat brought some non-alcoholic mulled wine over on Sunday, and it was lush! Found in a Dobbies garden centre, I believe, but keep your eyes peeled they could be selling it all over the place.

13.  Once your flapjack looks and smells like it’s certainly well baked, safely take it out of the oven and then switch the oven off.

What a bake... beeeeautiful

14.  Leave your flapjack to cool a little on the side, and while it’s cooling you can break your 400g of chocolate up into squares.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: Depending on whether you prefer a milk chocolate Terry’s or a dark chocolate Terry’s (or you just love them both in equal measure!) – feel free to use either all milk choc, all dark choc, or a combo of milk and dark choc – to your taste.

15.  Either microwave your chocolate, or pop it in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, to melt your chocolate.

16.  Pour the melted chocolate over your flapjack until it’s coated entirely.

So. Much. Chocolate.

17.  Use total artistic license here and top your flapjack with something festive. It might be that you want to rest actual segments of a Terry’s chocolate orange on top, or maybe you have some crystallised orange peel to chuck on there, tiny sprigs of holly… anything goes! We went for golden sprinkles, and this looked nice I’d say.

Golden!

18.  Once your flapjack is looking mightily festive, and you can do no more, then carefully transport it into the fridge to set.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: For those of your out there with a dodgy fridge – hollaaa join the club! Honestly, we put ours in the freezer for a good portion of Love Actually, and this did it no harm. Flapjack is a hardcore bake. Put your flapjack in the coolest location you have, so that it will set as quickly as possible, but try not to ACTUALLY freeze it in the process.

19.  Once the chocolate topping your flapjack is firm to touch and feels pretty darn solid, pause your film and take it out of the fridge / freezer / igloo.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: At this point, we sprayed it with a load of shimmer spray. Just because I had shimmer spray! And HorseyHardy had never seen it used before! This is entirely optional – but if you have shimmer spray – I say why not??

So shimmery!

20.  Then, tip your flapjack out of its tin and cut into squares – as many as you like depending on how big or little you would like them to be. Serve to guests, share with friends / family / colleagues / housemates / the homeless, or Tupperware to live for another day.

Adapted from an original recipe, which can be found here. 

What do you think?? After all my gushing, I hope this recipe doesn’t let you down, readers. Because – to me – it tastes just wonderful! There’s that homely, comforting, oaty taste of the flapjack. And a rich, sweet flavour coming from the SERIOUS amount of chocolate involved. And then the fresh, zingy citrus kick of all the orange in there. Glory!

Once you overcome the hurdle of finding the magic ingredient, orange essence, which I know isn’t something you can pick up at the corner shop – then it’s just simple ingredients otherwise and straightforward steps. An easy, fun bake which tastes gorrrrgeous if you’re asking me. Tis a must-have addition to your festive baking schedule, readers.

I sparred with HorseyHardy trying to get her to leave as little flapjack behind, as she possibly would, when heading home in the evening. Because it wasn’t safe with me. I’d be on it like the Vicar of Dibley. My heart couldn’t take double digit numbers of flapjack squares. BUT she insisted on leaving a few squares. And sure enough… half an hour later.

My chocolate orange flapjack didn’t make it into the evening – let alone into work! Let’s see how long yours lasts.

Do mull safely,

Hayley

Do it!

FLAPJACK FRIDAY

Pecan Chocjack

 

Ingredients: 500g porridge oats, 250g Stork (plus extra for greasing), 250g brown sugar, 5 tablespoons golden syrup, 300g chocolate, and 150g pecan nuts.

Time taken: 40 minutes-ish. Then an hour break. Then a half hour more in the kitchen.

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I write to you, ensconced in a duvet, on a cloudy Sunday afternoon in autumn. It’s been my first week at work this week, starting my first adult job, in a proper office wearing real business clothes. I’ve been getting to know my colleagues and learning basic tasks to help them out. It’s been a big week for me! A big week indeed. I have a desk, I have clients asking for me on the phone, I have a target number of phone calls to make each day. I can name about half of my colleagues in the office, and I think most of them remember my name, too.

So that’s it. I have to hang on another 4 weeks til I’m paid, but my name’s been added to the clock-in sheet and I’ve been given an extension number on the phone line. I’m deffo there to stay. And it feels like a big step towards adulthood! Getting on the morning bus with other commuters every day, and then pouring a well-earned glass of wine on a Friday evening.  This is the real deal.

And I have my weekends back! After 3 years of uni deadlines, which don’t clock out on a Friday and leave you in peace. No no. Instead, they haunt you anytime you dare dream of a Saturday morning lie in, or (heaven forbid!) pouring an evening bath on a Sunday. These have been such guilty pleasures for years for me now. But, as of this weekend… they aren’t.

This weekend, I had my Sheff BFFs over for cake and a catch up, and we talked so long we even had a second round of hot drinks! I bought a weekend newspaper and read it cover to cover. Caught up with my little brother and heard all about his teen adventures. Watched the dancers on Strictly. Today, I accompanied my dad around the supermarket, buying anything on offer. Now, here I sit. Working my way through the Vicar of Dibley box set on TV. Totally content!

I tell you readers, for now at least, this is the life for me. I can go on Facebook. There, one of the geography girls from uni has got engaged this weekend. And one of the girls from my secondary school, she’s given birth to the sweetest little baby boy I may ever have seen. And then I can log off. Pour a bath. Do whatever I feel like doing.

My life may not be the most thrilling in the world right now, I may not be travelling the world or becoming a mother, I’m not running for the London Tube or admiring a big ring on my finger. And how exciting for those girls who are! But I’m happy right now to be joining the world of work in Sheffield and chilling on the weekends. Happy indeed.

Are YOU readers? Are you happy this week? What is it that’s made you happy this week? Maybe the weather? … the Bake Off on TV? … or a gift? … a holiday? … maybe  friends and family? … the start of something new? … something great?? I hope that you have been happy this week. Very happy.

And that, maaaybe, you’ve spread that happiness, too?? You could have bought someone a drink or a present! Told them they look beautiful. You could have done all the chores or done nothing at all! Just spent time with someone instead. Brightened their day. Have you been spreading happiness, readers?? I hope you have and that there are a lot of happy people out there right now. Sort of thanks to you.

On Thursday, readers, I made the call that I needed to spread some happiness. And sooo… I got my bake on!! Piled in from work in the evening and turned on the oven, with my mind set on baking some flapjack. It was on. I thought a big batch of flapjack was just what the folk at work needed to see them through Friday in the office. My mission was clear.

Why flapjack? Well, readers, it’s quite a short and straightforward recipe. And there’s nothing too offensive about flapjack, is there?? I think most people quite like it. Everyone knows what it is. Flapjack goes quite well alongside a mugful of tea or coffee. It’s not too messy to eat in an office. Plus, it’s not too prone to going terribly wrong in the oven. Perfecto!

So, readers, I had quite a cosy evening in on Thursday. I baked flapjack and had my tea while it cooled. Then decorated the flapjack and watched ‘Love and Other Drugs’ with a hot water bottle. Woke up in the morning to glorious sunshine, and spent my day at work getting big thank yous for my flapjack from everyone! It was a total hit! Not to brag, but I snaffled a square and it did taste quite delicious. And lots of people in the office thought so. They became a very cheerful bunch with Tupperware of flapjack in their midst. Very cheerful indeed.

So, this week readers, my message to you is to brighten someone’s day! Whether it’s by following this recipe and surprising everyone in your office, with a tasty sweet treat for them! Or whether it’s in an entirely different way. Use your imagination and spread some happiness. You’ll feel great about it.

So. Want to follow my lead, readers, and bake up a storrrrrm of happiness? Here’s how to bake a big batch of Pecan Chocjack in just ten easy steps…

1. Heat your over to 180˚C. Prep your chocolate by breaking it up into squares in a bowl. Prep your nuts by, first, setting your 18 best looking ones aside. Use your own good judgement here. Then, take the remaining lot and use your fingers to break them up into little nut pieces.

2. Measure your porridge oats, Stork, brown sugar and golden syrup all into a mixing bowl. Take a wooden spoon and get mixing! Stir like your life depends on it. There’s a lot of ingredients in that bowl and you want them all mixed together.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: 100% break that marg up before you put it in the bowl. Add half a knob all in one go and you’ll spend the best part of an hour trying to mix it in! Not the finest use of your time. And by then you’ll have overmixed everything else to a pulp. So chop up your marg pre-mixing bowl.

3. Grease a big baking dish quite generously with marg. Be sure, if your dish is rectangular like mine, that you get the marg right into the corners. This can be a real sticking zone for your flapjack.

4. Spoon all your mix into the baking dish and then use your wooden spoon to spread it around into the corners. Then, when your mix is evenly spread, sprinkle your broken-up pecan nuts over the top. Use your wooden spoon to tap everything down til it’s tightly packed.

5. Next, take some kind of implement like a knife or a spatula. Use this, with care, to divide your flapjack up into 18 squares. Then bung it in the oven!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: For reasons that will soon become apparent, time this so that your flapjack goes in the oven about 20 minutes before a show is about to start on TV. 20 minutes before.

6. Bake your flapjack in the oven for around 20 minutes, until it’s beginning to turn golden on top. Meanwhile, you can get your washing up done and wipe some oats off the ceiling. Then, carefully, pop your flapjack out of the oven onto the side and turn your oven off. Leave it to cool in its tin and get settled in front of the TV!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: Do not fear if your flapjack doesn’t seem to have set. It shouldn’t feel firm when it comes out of the oven. In fact, it will probably still be quite squishy to feel. This is because flapjack sets as it cools and the syrup goes hard. So, if your flapjack’s got a bit of movement in it when you take it out of the oven, that’s not a worry. It will firm up with time.

7. Return to the kitchen at least an hour after you took your flapjack out of the oven, by which time your flapjack should have cooled and set. There’s no upper limit to how long you can leave the flapjack cooling. Take your time.

8. When  you’re back in the kitchen, use your knife or spatula to go around the edge of the flapjack and try to prise it away from its tin. Also, go over the cuts dividing up the flapjack to separate it back into 18 squares. Get the squares out of the tin onto a cooling rack or, if you don’t have one, just pop them on some kitchen roll.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I realise that this step of the recipe is easier said than done. Your aim, obviously, is to lose as little flapjack as is possible along the way. I advise using a spatula to scrape the flapjack out of the tin one square at a time. Go slowly and with a steady hand. If your flapjack breaks up, try to squish it back together again.

9. Next, melt your chocolate, either in the microwave (heat for 30 secs at a time and stir in between heating until it’s smooth – be careful not to burn!) or melt it on the hob instead. If you’re using the hob, just boil some water in the kettle and pour it into a pan over a high heat. Sit your bowlful of chocolate over the pan and your chocolate should soon start to melt in the bowl. Keep giving it a stir until it’s smooth.

10. And the final step of the recipe is your flapjack decoration! Simply pour a teaspoonful of melted chocolate over each flapjack square, and spread it about so that most of the square is covered. Then pop one of your pretty pecans on top, to finish it off nicely. When all your flapjack squares have been decorated (and you yourself are entirely coated in chocolate) you can call it a day. Leave the squares to cool for a few hours until the chocolate is set, before you move them into Tupperware.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I left mine overnight and think this is probably for the best. The chocolate had set for sure by morning.

There you have it…

...my batch of Pecan Chocjack!

And that’s all there is to it. This is quite a straightforward recipe, readers, and quite a fun one, too! You can change this recipe up any way you like. Dark or white chocolate, instead of milk? Hazelnuts or Brazils, instead of pecans? Or just throw those nuts out the window if you aren’t keen, and usher in some dried fruit or chocolates instead?? Do what you like!

Go crazy, readers. Go forth and bake flapjack. And spread happiness! Love comes back.

 

Be happy readers,

Hayley