I must apologise upfront if you came here looking for pancakes! I'm not talking about that kind of flapjack! Here in the UK, on the Isle of Mann, in Ireland and yes, surprisingly, in Newfoundland, a flapjack is a oaty bar, baked in a flat tin in the oven and then cut into squares or rectangles.
In Costco here in the UK you can buy beautiful flapjacks. They are huge and half dipped in chocolate. If you can eat a whole one of those you are a better man than I Gunga Din!
Typically a flap jack is made from four basic ingredients. Oats, butter, golden syrup and sugar. This results in a dryer version of a flapjack.
Today's version has the inclusion of sweetened condensed milk, which will give you a fudgier, less crumbly version. The sweetened condensed milk also gives a sweeter result.
Both are delicious. Both are quite easy and very simple to make. If you can stir things together in a bowl and press them into a pan, you are quite capable of making flapjacks!
Flapjacks have an old and varied history, dating back to the 17th century when they were first shaped like a cake or a tart and baked in a flat tin. King James IV of Scotland was on the throne and Guy Fawkes unsuccessfully tried to blow of the houses of parliament!
Of course they are something quite different these days than those original historical ones from way back when. Today's perfect flapjacks are quite sweet . . . but gloriously so.
They should never be hard or dry. They should be sweet and slightly chewy. Somewhat moist and never dry. They are meant to be enjoyed with a hot cup of tea or a cold glass of milk.
Children absolutely love them! No surprise there!Children always love sweet things. The sweeter the better.
The addition of sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk) results in a chewier flapjack, not quite so dry as some you find out there. This chewiness is an attribute which I quite enjoy.
Shakespeare is said to have loved flapjacks. Enough so that he wrote about them in Act I, Scene II of Pericles.
“Come, thou shant go home, and we’ll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreo’er puddings and flap-jacks, and thou shalt be welcome”
If they are good enough for Shakespeare to mention then they are good enough for me. I was actually quite, quite surprised when I tasted my first on. I have to say that it was love at first bite!
Lets face it. They really are not all that attractive when it comes right down to it. But the British are great lovers of simplicity when it comes to things like this, and of tradition.
This is the kind of treat I dreamt about all those years ago when I was devouring Enid Blyton books and wondering about Tuck Boxes, filled with goodies and midnight feasts!
Midnight feasts enjoyed amongst your closest of school friends, sitting on dormatory windowsils sharing titillating tales of adventure and mystery.
These are great keepers, which makes them perfect for the Tuck Box! And for sharing. And tucking into picnic baskets and lunch boxes.
Perfect for dropping onto cake plates for the teatable. And for enjoying as a sneaky mid morning or mid afternoon snack with a nice hot cuppa!
They also freeze very well. Sometimes people like to dress them up a bit by dipping them into melted chocolate, dark or white, or even milk. This is a nice treatment I have to say.
Others like to dribble chocolate all over the top of them, decoratively of course. Also nice. Still others favour adding spice and dried fruit to them.
I prefer them just as is at their very basic, without any spice or other adulteration. If something isn't broken why fix it.
At their very simplest, these are pretty perfect no matter how you wish to enjoy them, and that is one thing which I will guarantee. You WILL enjoy them. No matter how plain or simple you think they look. This is definately a case where less is more.
These were baked to enjoy with some yogurt for a teatime dessert. I
think you need to give them a go. I think you will find that they are
incredibly tasty and invariably moreish! How's that for a tasty
mouthful! Todd just loves these.
Yield: 25
Fudgy Flapjacks
prep time: 10 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 40 mins
Using condensed milk helps to create a dense fudgy flapjack. Flapjacks are oaty bars here in the UK. Perfect for enjoying with a hot cuppa or a cold glass of milk.
ingredients:
- 125g butter (1/2 cup)
- 100g golden syrup (generous 1/4 cup, 3.5 oz)
- 90g caster sugar (1/2 cup fine granulated sugar)
- 280g porridge oats (3 1/2 cups)
- half to a full tin (397g) sweetened condensed milk (14 oz tin)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F gas mark 4. Line an 8 inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper. Set side
- Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Do not allow to boil. Add the condensed milk and vanilla (1/2 of the tin). Cook, stirring for a further 5 minutes until the mixture turns a shade darker.
- Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the porridge oats. You may need some extra oats, depending on whether your oats are jumbo oats or not. You want a mixture which is well filled with oats, but not stiff.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin, smooth out and flatten in the tin.
- Bake for between 12 and 30 minutes, turning the pan around halfway through the bake time to help them bake evenly. If they are browning too quickly or you are afraid they might burn, turn the oven temperature down slightly. They are done when the edges are browning slightly, whilst the centre is just turning golden.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 25 to 30 minutes before lifting out and cutting into squares.
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English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are
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may report it to me at: theenglishkitchen@mail.com
One thing I have always loved doing it just going into my cupboard or larder, or freezer and seeing what I have available to throw together a delicious meal for us.
Its just something that I have always done and something that I enjoy. I see it as a challenge that I am very happy to rise to!
There used to be a show on the telly when I first moved over here on which celebrity Chef's would race against the clock to create several delicious dishes from the ingredients in a bag brought to the show by the contestants.
Two contestants, two chefs and an allotted period of time in which to accomplish said challenge.
At the end of the time period, the contestants would taste and comment on the chef's dishes and the audience would vote on which chef had produced the tastiest dishes.
I'm probably not explaining it very well, but hopefully you get the picture. The show was called Ready Steady Cook.
Of course there was a vast store cupboard of basic ingredients available to put together with the ingredients in the bag!
So today I took a package of macaroni, a tin of tomatoes, some stock cubes and a pound of Italian sausage and challenged myself to come up with something tasty.
Of course I could have just done the basic, and skinned the sausage and crumbled it into a sauce with the tomatoes, and mixed that into cooked macaroni and baked it.
I am sure that would have been quite tasty too . . . but instead this is what I did.
I cooked the macaroni, rinsed and set it aside.
I skinned the sausage and shaped it into tiny meatballs . . .
With the tinned tomatoes, I added fresh minced onions and garlic and a few seasonings to create a chunky tomato soup broth. Use a good quality tinned tomato.
This is one of the main ingredients so you want a tinned tomato with a great flavour. For me that is always Cirio tomatoes and tomato puree. Fresh from the vine flavours . . .
I poached the little sausage meatballs in the tomato broth . . .
And then I threw in the cooked macaroni and heat it through . . .
Ladled into hot soup bowls with a smattering of grated Parmesan cheese scattered over top, it went down a real treat on this cold . . . wet . . . wet . . . day. Crusty bread on the side is a must.
Yield: 4 - 6
Little Meatball Soup
prep time: 10 minscook time: 20 minstotal time: 30 mins
There are no two ways about it, this is one delicious bowl of soup! Serve with some crusty bread for a hearty meal that will please the whole family!
ingredients:
- 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage
For the soup:
- 230g dry macaroni (2 cups)
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
- 2 TBS tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
- 2 (400g) tins of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice, undrained (28 ounces)
- 950ml chicken stock (4 cups)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 45g grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)
- chopped fresh basil (a good handful, about 1/4 cup)
instructions:
- Remove the casings from the sausages. Using wet hands, shape
the meat into 1/2 inch in diameter sized meatballs. Set aside in a cool
place. - Cook the macaroni as per package instructions in a
large pot of salted water. Drain well. Rinse in cold water and drain
again. Set aside. - Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, without browning. Stir in
the tomato puree, garlic, and thyme. Cook until very fragrant. Add the
tomatoes and broth. Add the meatballs and cook at a simmer, without
stirring, until the meatballs are tender and cooked through, about 15 to
20 minutes. Stir in the pasta. and season with salt and black pepper
to taste. - Spoon into heated bowls, topping each serving with some Parmesan cheese and chopped basil.
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What would you make if you had the same ingredients to work with . . . a tin of tomatoes, a pound of Italian sausage and a package of macaroni? I would love to know! Bon Appetit!
We are having the Missionary Sisters come to us for supper tonight. Its been a while since we have had Missionary Sisters in the Chester area, so we are quite excited about that!
I love feeding all of the Missionaries, but its always more exciting to me to feed the Sisters. You can cook for them things that you wouldn't cook for the guys.
You can do things for them like have picnics, or tea parties. I suppose you could also do that for the guys, but they wouldn't appreciate it in quite the same way as the girls do, if you know what I mean!
You can cook daintier, more feminine things for the girls. Things like cupcakes. Yummy scrummy cupcakes.
This recipe I am sharing today is one from the Martha Stewart Cupcake Cookbook. I have had the book for a very long time now, but believe it or not this is the first recipe I am using from it!
Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes With Raspberry Jam. I am not really good with fiddly stuff. I don't think I have the patience. These are not fiddly. That is the one thing that drew me to this recipe.
Simple and not fiddly, plus the flavours of lemon and raspberry of course! I love both those things. I also love cake with jam.
For some reason hers were not domed like mine, so she was able to get three layers, with two layers being jam. Mine domed and three layers were not practical. Perhaps it was the size of my muffin cups.
In any case these are beautiful and light!
Rich and flavourful . . .
Everything a good cupcake should be. Tender and moist . . .
With just enough lemon flavour . . . its there, but its subtle . . . it doesn't slap you in the face.
She used seedless raspberry jam. I used regular raspberry jam . . . Bonne Maman of course. Its the best, seeded or not!
Oh how I wish I could give you one of these so you could see how very delicious and perfect they are for yourself!
I just know the girls are going to love them. I am serving them old style . . . with vanilla ice cream on the side. Cake and ice cream. You can't get much better than that!
Yield: Makes 24
Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam
prep time: 15 minscook time: 20 minstotal time: 35 mins
These cupcakes are anything but ordinary. Delicious.
ingredients:
- 345g butter (1 1/2 cups)
- 385g of plain flour (2 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 large free range eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 240g of granulated sugar (1 1/4 cup)
- 1 TBS finely grated lemon zest, plus 4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 185g full fat plain yogurt (3/4 cup)
- jam for filling
- icing sugar to dust
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas
mark 4. Brush two medium muffin tins with softened butter and dust with
flour, shaking out any excess. - Beat together the butter and 3/4 of the sugar until light and creamy.
Beat in the extract, lemon juice, lemon zest and then the egg yolks, one
at a time. - Whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder and salt.
- Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Continue to beat, adding the remaining sugar, until stiff and glossy but not dry.
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in
three batches, beginning and ending with dry, alternating with the
yogurt (in two additions). Fold in the beaten egg whites. - Spoon into the prepared muffin tins. Bake in the
preheated oven for 20 minutes, rotating the tins half way through the
bake time. When done a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out
clean. Let cool completely in the tins. - Once cold, cut in half horizontally, Spread the cut side with jam, replacing the top. Dust with icing sugar. Serve.
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I am not sure why I am not a lover of fiddly things. I love to look at them. I just don't like making fiddly things. Perhaps working at the Manor cured me of ever wanting to do fiddly, I don't know. I am more than capable of doing it . . . I just don't want to. Anyways, bake these cupcakes. You are sure to love them! I guarantee! Bon Appetit! Or as Martha would say . . . "Its a good thing."
Note - I noticed that they did absorb some of the jam as they sat so I would recommend filling and dusting just before serving. The flavour was not altered, but the appearance was a bit when you cut them open. They were still delicious!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I had some leftover chicken to use and so I decided to make us some chicken salad sandwiches. I like a chicken salad sandwich every now and then.
I saw what looked like a particularly tasty recipe in The Taste Of Home's Busy Family Cookbook that I had wanted to try for a while and today was the day!
I made it pretty much as written but with a few changes which I will add here. The original recipe called for the filling to be used to stuff croissants, and that would indeed be very tasty!
I didn't have any croissants however and I am quite fond of whole wheat toast, and so that is what I used for my sandwich.
The recipe called for a quantity of flaked almonds. I always like to toast my nuts prior to using them. I find that toasting them heightens their natural flavours, and adds to their crunch.
Ten minutes in a moderate oven does the trick. Make sure that they are well cooled off prior to using.
I have always thought that there isn't any kind of meat, poultry or fish sandwich that is not made better by adding the crunch, colour and flavour of fresh salad leaves. I like the mixes which contain rocket/baby arugula.
I quite adore the earthy pepperiness of rocket leaves!!
You can butter your whole wheat toast if you wish, or even just lightly spread it with a bit more mayo to help the leaves and filling to adhere better.
I cut it into quarters . . . I like the look of sandwich quarters . . . somehow they just look more special to me!
You get a nice sweetness from the sultanas, which are the same as golden raisins . . .
A sweet chewy tang from the dried cranberries . . . I really like dried cranberries and the flavour of cranberry has such a beautiful affinity with poultry.
The addition of some finely chopped red onion adds another layer of flavour . . . sharp but not overly so. It goes just right. If you don't have any red onions, I think chopped spring onions would work well in their place.
These delicious sandwiches went down a real treat with us. Todd of course, man that he is . . . enjoyed his on plain white bread, not toasted.
Yield: 4
Fruity Chicken Salad
prep time: 10 minscook time: 5 minstotal time: 15 mins
A delicious chicken salad with a wonderfully tasty and colourful blend of textures and flavours. You can use it to fill split croissants if you wish. I like to enjoy it on toasted whole wheat bread along with a layer of mixed baby salad leaves.
ingredients:
- 1 small stalk celery, trimmed and chopped
- 40g sultana raisins (1/4 cup golden raisins)
- 40g dried cranberries (1/4 cup)
- 45g toasted flaked almonds (1/4 cup)
- 165g good quality mayonnaise (3/4 cup)
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 cups diced cooked chicken
- your desired choice of bread, croissant, etc.
- optional salad leaves
instructions:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Spoon about 1/2 cup salad into each croissant or sandwich, on top of salad leaves if using. Serve immediately.
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I would love to try this delicious chicken salad in croissants one day, as originally intended. I bet it would be even more fabulous! These were really tasty as is! Bon Appetit!
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