Flapjacks... Chocolate, coconut & vanilla yumminess

This is for my very good friend Moira who really loves these whenever I bring them over !!

Chocolate, coconut & vanilla Flapjacks

You will need a swiss roll tin (38cm X 25cm) lined with parchment paper.  Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

wet ingredients:
350g butter
2 tblsp golden syrup
175g soft light brown sugar
1tsp vanilla extract

dry ingredients:
75g plain flour
375g oats
75g desicated coconut

Topping:
250g plain chocolate or milk chocolate - or sometimes I do half & half which is nice.

Method:
Put all wet ingredients into a saucepan on a medium heat until all melted together. Bring to a simmer and stir until mixture is a smooth golden sauce.
Add to dry ingredients and mix well until the ingredients all come together.
Pour into the swiss roll tin and press really really well into the tin with the back of a spoon or a palette knife until it's all compressed really well (takes about 3-5 mins to do it properly) TIP: This will give you a lovely easy to cut piece of flapjack that doesn't crumble too much.

Bake in centre of oven for 20-25 mins, but keep an eye on it - it can burn very easily in the last 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, allow to cool completely.
Melt chocolate in a bain marie for the top and smooth over the top - spreading evenly out to the edges.  Allow to cool completely.  Cut into 25-30 squares.  (it will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks) I sometimes freeze in batches in zip lock bags for lunchboxes during the week - if they last that long!!!

Good old James Martin to the rescue - I went shopping yesterday for a "star wars" cake for my (almost) 8 year old and we're in the shop looking at all the cakes and he says... "but Mammy why are we buying a cake when you're cakes are the best"... so we came home and I made the trusty chocolate cake from James Martin Deserts book (one of the best desert cookbooks around)... and a chocolate buttercream frosting....

Topped with Black sugar fondant and some space dust.  Let the lego Star Wars battle commence....

AND the 8 year olds party!!!

Medovnik (honey cake) or sometimes called the Royal cake in Prague....

Blimey, this was a tricky cake.... I've been waiting for a reason/excuse to make this cake since I tasted it almost 10 years ago in Prague.  It's an absolutely unique taste, not to sweet, not too cakey, not too anything... just about a perfect cake - every mouthful is a dream on your tastebuds...

OK, so a friend of mine keeps bees and makes honey and is entering the beekeepers association competition with her honey this weekend in Rathgar.  There is a honey cake section so she suggested I make a honey cake with her honey and we could enter it into the competition.... so as it takes almost 3 days to make... here it is, all ready for it's debut on Saturday.... fingers crossed for it!

my Brother's 40th birthday cake

So I hadn't made this Chocolate Orange Truffle cake since my brother got married 8 years ago... eh, WHY not, it's bloody gorgeous... anyway I thought his 40th would be an ideal time to dust off the recipe again....

Being around in the 80's I thought he might like the pac-man theme....

Lemon buns with truffle frosting very fancy for kiddies party!

LEMON buns with Truffle frosting for my nieces birthday party..... YUMMY

So nice to make sweet girly cakes !

Best Granola EVER

Makes about 1.5kg.

125g butter 

150ml honey

1tsp vanilla extract

500g rolled oats

50g pecans chopped

150g hazelnuts chopped

75g pumpkin seeds, 75g sunflower seeds, 50g golden linseeds (there is a 4 seed mix in tesco, I use half a bag), 

100g desiccated coconut

300g mixed dried fruit ( dates, figs, raisins, sultanas, dried cranberries, chop the larger fruit).

Preheat oven to 170. 

Put butter, honey and vanilla into small saucepan and melt gently. Mix the oats, nuts, seeds and desiccated coconut together in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter mix and stir really well to make sure all the dry ingredients are evenly coated.

Divide the mixture between 2 large baking trays and spread in an even layer. Bake in the oven for half an hour turning every 5 mins, watch it doesn't burn around the edges.

Remove from oven and leave to cool on trays stirring them every few minutes as it cools.

Once totally cool, transfer into large bowl and stir in choice of dried fruits. Put into airtight container and it will last at room temp for about two months. (it won't last that long 

girly zebra cake

So my niece was 6 yesterday and here is her "girly zebra cake"......