Sticky Plum Flapjack

I came home from visiting family a few days ago with a*huge* bag full of plums from my Sister-in-law's farm. My usual fail safe recipe is a crumble cake or muffins, but I fancied trying something different. I turned to Google and discovered a recipe for Sticky Plum Flapjack which you can find here on the BBC Good Food website.

Now, I'm not great at following recipes and I was out of a couple of ingredients, so I made a few tweaks! Don't be fooled into thinking it's good for you because it's a fruit flapjack- it's packed with butter and sugar. Still, everything in moderation! Here's my version. Afterwards, I thought how amazing it would be with an extra 50g or so of crumbled amaretti biscuits over the top. Good job I have lots of plums left!

• 450g fresh plums, halved and stoned
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• 300g soft brown sugar
• 350g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 300g rolled porridge oats
• 140g plain flour
• 100g pistachios
• 3 tbsp golden syrup

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the plums into a bowl. Mix with the spice, 50g of the sugar and then set aside.
•  Gently melt the butter and syrup in a saucepan. In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, pistachio nuts and remaining sugar together, making sure there are no lumps of sugar, then stir in the butter and golden syrup until everything is combined into a loose flapjack mixture.

 Grease a square baking tin about 20 x 20cm (I used a tinfoil baking tray from Asda, these I think). Press half the oat mix over the base of the tin, then tip over the plums and spread to make an even layer. Press the remaining oats over the plums so they are completely covered right to the sides of the tin. Bake for 45-50 mins until dark golden and starting to crisp a little around the edges. Leave to cool completely, then cut into 18 little bars. Will keep in an airtight container for 2 days or can be frozen for up to a month.

 

I couldn't wait until it was cold, so it was very soft when I photographed our afternoon snack. It tasted amazing- sweet flapjack and sharp plums, what's not to love?! But, and there is a but, it is *very* sticky and *very* soft. Almost too soft to eat as a slice. It would be fabulous with a dollop of vanilla ice cream as a pudding though. Next time (there will definitely be one!) I'll fiddle with the amounts a bit and bake for longer to get it a little more firm. If you try it, please do comment to let me know how yours turns out.

Cake International, Birmingham 2013

This weekend, I went to Cake International for the first time and entered my very first competition.
It's so hard to come up with something that hasn't been done a million times before, but a few weeks ago, I suddenly had an idea that I couldn't find any examples of on Google. The week before the competition, I baked, carved and decorated around work, poorly children and cake orders.

The day of the competition, we were up at 4am, and out of the door by five, with the cake and all the decorative elements in individual plastic boxes ready to assemble at the NEC. Suddenly the motorway was at a standstill, and there were stayed for over an hour and a half. Luckily the Cake International staff were very flexible and we managed to get set up just as the show opened.

 

We breathed a sigh of relief and went for breakfast, but as we watched through the window, the spoon handle broke under the heat of the lights! 

Considering the broken spoon and the less than perfect, hurried finish, I was *amazed* to discover on my way back to the NEC the next day that I had been awarded a bronze!

I'm already planning my design for next year!

 

Cake a Day Challenge~ Day Six

Made at my brother's request, although he won't get to taste these (sorry Stu!). I have plans to tweak them and make them postable. You can find the original recipe here , although these are made to my own recipe, not from a box of cake mix!

Brides don't have to wear white- why should their cakes?!

This week's Cake a Day Challenge cakes will all be based on one colour and shape, so today's photo is of the cake in it's most simple, elegant form.

Cake a Day Challenge~ Day Four!

Imagine this butter iced beauty three or four tiers high...

Cake a Day Challenge~ Day Three

Fondant icing isn't for everyone, but butter icing is often seen as an inferior alternative when it comes to celebration cakes. I beg to differ!

Cake a Day, Day Two

I had some leftover butter cream in the fridge, so I iced a dummy with a dome, then mini rose swirls and added pearls and a touch of lustre spray. I love it! Shame the dummy is a little lost in the case.