Saturday 30th August - treacle flapjack

 Here's the photo

And here's the starting point for making them.

And what I did;

1) I made half quantities  - there are only two of us

2) I ysed golden syrup because I didn't want to open the new black treacle (laziness)

3) I used half and half dark brown sugar and soft brown sugar, because I had used golden syrup.

4) I totted up the rry ingredients - roughly 350g so that's about 125g for half quantities 

5) I'm really not keen on finding squishy bits of dried fruit and too many seeds in my flapjack. Honestly,  what's with the 'healthy snack' idea? With all that butter, sugar and syrup no amount of oats, dried glowberries or superfoodyseeds is going to make it healthy. Just accept that this is Not A Healthy Food. Hence half quantities cut into very small pieces.

6) I'm on a mission to deal with an overstock of Jordans Dark Chocolate Crunchy breakfast cereal. At the last count I think we had four, could have been five packets. (We have the same situation with bath soap,  but baking won't resolve that one). So I weighed out 125g ish crunchy cereal and pounded it with the end of a rolling pin in a STURDY bowl.

7) The mix looked a bit sloppy, so I added in some ordinary porridge oats. (Scot's Original. BB switched from crunchy cereal to porridge about the same time as I was congratulating myself on taking advantage of the special offer, hence overstock. He's usually finished his breakfast before I come down which is why I didn't spot the switch)

How much porridge oats did I add? A couple of handfuls. I have small hands. 

8) I cooked itin the small 6" pan, lined with baking paper, that fits in our air fryer, for about 40 mins at 155. (At 30 mins it was looking far too soft so I gave it another 10)

I then forgot about it until the next day when I discovered it like an ominous dark slab in the tin. Flapjack always seems greasy on the bottom; I tipped it onto a piece of kitchen paper while I pondered what to do if it was really as solid as it looked. I tried bendy it; and it gently and neatly broke in half. Encouraged, I took a large knife and discovered it could be cut very neatly,  with hardly any mess, into cubes. The kitchen paper had soaked up extra grease perfectly.

It is delicious. That's my view; I don't like my flapjack too bendy or too crispy but this is in the Goldilocks sweet spot. Also, the treacly flavour is more too my taste than the paler, syrupy flapjacks. And there is NO SQUIDGY BITS OF DRIED FRUIT IN IT.

BB is not convinced. He doesn't care for the treacly taste.

I can make him some of his own... using ordinary brown sugar... if I can recreate the recipe... is it even a recipe anymore after steps 1 through 8 have happened to it?

Music

I think I'm going to take a pause from hunting up music for a while from the end of August. I feel a bit sad about that in some ways, but there we go, I'm ready for a break.

I've suddenly just this second had a thought; how about if you make suggestions in the comments I could post them up instead, if they're available on YouTube? (I try and find shortish pieces on the whole...)

Anyway, today... I haven't come across piano pieces by Sibelius before; here's Harlequinade, op 76 no 13, played by Howard Gimse

It reminds me a bit of Grieg's Puck from Lyric pieces - played here by Gerard Willems.