Each day at the Charterhouse afternoon tea is laid out, usually in the Old Library, so our residents can have a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. The Kitchen team always make sure there are sandwiches and something sweet to enjoy, and our Sous Chef’s flapjacks are always very popular. Afternoon tea is a daily ritual that is part of the fabric of life at the Charterhouse, and an opportunity to socialise. Not everyone chooses to join in but there are definitely a few regulars, and although it’s really for our residents occasionally our staff join in too!
Oat cakes and biscuits have a long history that can be traced; the Anglo Saxons made honey, spice and oat cakes and of course everyone is familiar with the savoury Scottish oatcakes which date to pre-Roman times. It is thought flapjacks date to the early 17th century and referred to something more like a pancake or turnover using oats as a key ingredient, and would have been cooked on ‘bakestones’ or griddles. They even get a mention by Shakespeare in his play Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1607). They have evolved over the years of course, and seem to have become popular in their current from in the 1930s. Whether a Flapjack is a cake or a biscuit might be up for debate, but it is categorised as a biscuit by HMRC and therefore subject to VAT when offered for sale!
This easy-to-make, caramelly, oaty treat might seem simple but is delicious. You can also add seeds, nuts, dried fruit or chocolate chips according to your taste or if you fancy some variety. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a hot drink in the Autumn, especially as the temperature starts to drop.
Ingredients:
Serves 8
300g jumbo rolled oats
200g golden syrup
255g of unsalted butter
100g light brown sugar
1 tsp Madagascan vanilla essence
Optional – seeds, dried fruit or chocolate chips to taste
- Pre-heat your over on 180°C.
- Lightly oil a flat baking sheet or 8” tin and line with waxy greaseproof parchment paper.
- Melt the butter, golden syrup and vanilla essence very gently in a thick-bottomed saucepan on a low heat, then add the oats.
- Stir vigorously for a couple of minutes being careful not to splash the hot liquid on yourself, this will briefly ‘cook’ the oats before the mixture is cooked for a second time in the oven and will help make the flapjacks soft and chewy.
- If you are adding any seeds, dried fruit or chocolate chips fold these into the mixture.
- Spread the mixture onto the lined baking sheet or tin and bake on the middle shelf for around 20 – 25 minutes until risen at the edges and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 mins.
- Slide off the baking sheet or tin onto a chopping board while still on the greaseproof paper.
- Rest for another 5 mins and then with a very sharp knife gently mark out portions (squares or slices) on the surface of the mixture and then leave for another 10 mins.
- Fully cut the marked portions and serve, perfect with afternoon tea!
- Keep in an airtight container or in the fridge and if eating after freezing make sure to serve fully de-frosted and at room temperature.