Date, oat and seed bars (not a flapjack)

I spent a lot of time trying to make flapjacks without using golden syrup in order to make them "no added sugar". After about 30 attempts I realised that you can never replicate the same taste and texture of a true flapjack. However, you can create something very delicious which is more of a date and oat bar with lots of seeds and nuts. The xantham gum helps to bind the flapjack and is a useful low sugar ingredient to use in baking, but if you don’t have it you can leave it out (likewise the erythritol which will make it less sweet). This recipe can also be made vegan by replacing the butter with a substitute (the best one I have found is Naturli)

Makes 8-10

75g butter or vegan replacement

60g erythritol

100g dates

75g water

50g jumbo oats

50g porridge oats

10g pumpkin seeds

10g sunflower seeds

10g chia seeds

15g chopped roasted hazelnuts (or other nuts)

35g raisins

1 tsp cocoa powder

1g xantham gum (1/4 tsp)

1. Preheat the oven to 170C, and line a loaf tin with baking parchment. It is important to use the right size tin so that the flapjacks are the right thickness (roughly 2-3cm).

2. Place the dates in a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave for 5 minutes.

3. Melt the butter, sugar and oil in a small pan. When fully dissolved, add to the date mixture and and then blitz with a stick blender until smooth

4. Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and date mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed.

5. Press evenly into the tin and bake for around 25 minutes until golden. Leave in the tin to cool before cutting.