What happened to my flapjack?

[Newgolddream70]

I am sure a 5 year old could have done better!

My flapjack has turned out a bit toffee-like, stuck to the baking tray on the sides (will need a chisel for that) and crumbly/gooey on the bottom. It’s the easy BBC Good Food recipe so oats, syrup, butter and sugar, baked at 180 degrees for 15 minutes (although I left it in for 17).

What did I do wrong?

Actually, I cooked it in a square Pyrex dish if that makes any difference?

Sounds like amounts of ingredients were wrong when weighing - how accurate were you?
Did you grease and line the tin?
I always leave flapjack in longer than the recipe states as I like it more crunchy.

Is it the one that says blitz in a food processor?
Less syrup means less gooey ones. I like gooey ones tbh but I do find the cooking time to be too short in a lot of flap Jack recipes.

I’m not much of a baker. I made granola which was like flapjack but not in bars iyswim. But I left it much longer than the recipe suggested and it came out tooth-crackingly hard.

I think @Sunshineismyfavourite is right about the measurement of the ingredients.

I measured everything accurately except for the syrup - I put in extra for more goo but it’s obviously backfired and given me toffee. And no I didn’t grease the dish either. I’ll have another go next week! And maybe invest in a proper baking tray and cook longer.

@NotAntisocialJustSelectivelySocial yes, that one but I used a wooden spoon and elbow grease.

Sounds like you left it in the oven too long.

Take it out earlier and let it set in the fridge if it doesn't harden on its own during cooling.

Hmm, yes, next time follow the recipe. Use exactly the quantity of ingredients it tells you to and don't modify either the temperature or the cooking time.

If it still doesn't work then you can blame the recipe instead of yourself for not following the recipe!

This is Delia's recipe. I haven't made it for AGES, but it's pretty radically different from the one you've made in terms of timings and ratios.

@Newgolddream70 I use that recipe religiously. I never do it in the food processor though, I always melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan then stir the oats in. It works better, but too much syrup does make it far too gooey, and you do definitely need to grease the tray and run a knife around the tray, and cut the squares, before it cools. Just don’t attempt to lift them out until fully cold. You will have to go over your cut lines again though.

Thanks all. I shall report back on FJ.2.

The Delia recipe is quite different!

Mary Berry Fast flapjacks are a winner here. They bake really well and are always just gooey without falling apart. I find most important thing is to mix the melted ingredients together well so the butter doesn’t separate and leave a greasy bottom

You need to line the dish with greaseproof paper and stick to the correct quantities.

You need Soupdragon’s recipe- it’s the absolute best. I’ll look it out and post it in the morning.

Does it have condensed milk in it? If not it's just wrong.

You need soupdragons recipe

I was just coming to say that the only flapjack worth making is Soupdragons recipe but I see I've been beaten to it!

Here for the tips and will make next week for work

I find things don't always come out as expected if I cook them in a Pyrex dish rather than a metal tray - tend to be soggier on the base.

Placemarking for the foolproof recipe 😀

It's in this thread

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/food_and_recipes/230940-how-do-i-make-flapjacks

Brilliant! Thank you @Hazeltwig

I tried Delia’s flapjack recipe and they were the nastiest, driest things ever. Not even worthy of the title Flapjack.
Weird as I am a Delia fan in general but these joyless monstrosities went straight in the bin.

I’m obviously in the minority because I hated Soupdragon’s recipe-sorry!
It’s all claggy and overly sweet, and that’s saying something given the sugar & syrup in my usual recipe!

I cook my flapjack at 150 degrees for 35 minutes… plus I line the tin

Sounds like your oven is too hot, you had too much golden syrup and you didn’t grease or line the tin.

I never had any success with flapjacks until I invested in a silicone baking dish. Made a world of difference. I use the same BBC good food recipe and it’s actually the only one I’ve ever had success with- I make the whole lot in a saucepan, adding the oats last.
I also bake in the oven for longer than it says too!