macadamia choc flapjacks

"horsecakes" if you're an O'Brien/Chamberlain

What I’m reading: Come and Get It, by Kiley Reid. I liked it, but not as much as Reid’s first book (Such a Fun Age). Really observant character descriptions and the dialogue was really well-paced, but some parts felt a little too tongue in cheek for me.

What I’m listening to: John Boyne on Desert Island Discs.

What I’m eating: a burger from Lucky Gs, Auckland (below) - excellent burger, very cute spot, highly recommend.

Flapjacks are a staple bake in my family. I’m not sure which side of the family it comes from, but we call them “horsecakes” - I presume something to do with the oats? Anyway, I maintain that mum makes the best ones - she uses a Sam Stern recipe from years ago, and says that the secret is to leave the mix in the pot for half an hour before pressing into the tin and baking. You heard it here first!

I did a recipe test on flapjacks for the Irish Times last year - you can find some of my thoughts and a recipe for date and coconut flapjacks here. More recently, we had a lot of oats to use up at work (Mor), despite a week where we had porridge for breakfast every morning (and it is definitely porridge weather in Auckland). These flapjacks were partly inspired by the recently released Whittaker’s Macadamia Block, which is every bit as good as it sounds. The combination of oats, macadamias and chocolate, brought together with butter, brown sugar and golden syrup - well, you can’t really go wrong. Flapjacks are so underrated, and I always forget how good they can be: we had staff at work fighting over taking the last one home, which I believe is a pretty good measure of a successful bake.

The wattleseed is an optional addition as I believe it’s quite hard to find. We had some at work brought back from Melbourne, where it’s pretty popular at the moment - they put it in the pain au choc at Small Batch (see below). If you can’t get your hands on any, though, don’t fret. It tastes kind of biscuity/warm and spicy - so I would recommend adding a tablespoon of ground coffee instead, if you like.

For me, the main trick when it comes to making flapjacks is not to overbake them - otherwise, they’ll be dry and crunchy instead of chewy (which is how I like them). Make sure you cut them with a sharp serrated knife while they’re still warm, then allow them to cool fully before dipping them in chocolate. I’ve gone for a “cheat’s” temper for the chocolate here, which allows you to get a nice glossy finish without turning your kitchen into a chocolate tempering lab.

recipe: macadamia chocolate flapjacks