Cakes & Bakes: Malted flapjacks

Malted flapjack with mug of tea

Our house is rarely without biscuits of some type or variety; digestives, shortbread, cookies… However, when we’re out for whatever reason, a batch of flapjacks is easy to rustle up. For a twist on my regular recipe, I decided to try making malted flapjacks using medium oatmeal rather than my usual porridge oats.

butter, malt extract and honey in a saucepan Malted flapjacks in a cake tin before going into the oven

This is a ‘no sugar’ recipe, the sweetness comes from honey, the malt extract and natural sugars in the fruit. The dried fruit & nuts I used were sultanas and chopped hazelnuts and walnuts. However, you could use any combination that takes your fancy, or you happen to have in your store cupboard.

Cooked malted flapjack Sliced malted flapjack

A single tablespoon of malt extract – two, tops – will suffice for this recipe. Malt extract is potent stuff, you don’t want the taste to be too overwhelming. Using the medium oatmeal instead of the rolled oats gave a crunchy texture and nutty flavour – I really like it!

Click here or on the image below to save my malted flapjacks recipe to Pinterest

Malted flapjacks recipe

Malted flapjack with mug of tea

Malted flapjacks

Course Snack
Cuisine British

Ingredients
  

  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tbsp malt extract
  • 400 g medium oatmeal
  • 75 g chopped fruit & nuts I used a mixture of sultanas, hazelnuts and walnuts

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3
  • Line a square brownie tin with parchment paper. Set aside
  • In a large saucepan, melt the butter, honey and malt extract over a low heat. Stir occasionally to combine
  • Add the oatmeal and fruit & nuts and combine well. Remove from the heat
  • Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and, using a spatula or serving spoon, level it out pressing down firmly, not forgetting the 4 corners
  • Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the top begins to turn brown
  • Allow the flapjack to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before lifting it out and slicing into portions
Malted flapjacks ingredients
Keyword flapjack, malt, oats

Cakes & Bakes: White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve been venturing back into Aberystwyth to pop to the shops. We visited Ty Coed Treehouse in their brand new home opposite the town’s train station. It’s the kind of shop where you can pick up ingredients that you don’t always find in a supermarket.

malt, sugar and butter in a mixing bowl Adding dry ingredients to cookie mixture

I’ve been looking for malt extract for a while, and they had it in stock. I’ve used it to make Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf in the past, but this time, I’ve made a batch of white chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies.

Chopped white chocolate and hazelnuts with cookie mixture White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookie dough on a baking sheet

In the early 20th century, when sweets weren’t as ubiquitous as they are now, children would eat spoonfuls of malt extract. Malt extract was used as a nutritional supplement given alongside cod liver oil… it probably helped to mask the awfulness!

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies

The cookies were lovely, with that particular taste reminiscent of Ovaltine and those childhood malt biscuits with cows stamped on the front. The white chocolate and hazelnuts go really well – as would milk chocolate with pecans or dark chocolate with Brazil nuts.

Click here or on the image below to save the recipe to Pinterest

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies recipe

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies
Yields 24
Cook Time
18 min
Cook Time
18 min
Ingredients
  1. 125g/4½oz butter, softened
  2. 115g/4oz malt extract
  3. 55g/2oz soft brown sugar
  4. 1 large egg
  5. 300g/10½oz self-raising flour
  6. 100g/3½oz white chocolate, roughly chopped
  7. 140g/5oz hazelnuts, roughly choppedWhite chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/350ºF/Gas mark 4
  2. Line two oven trays with parchment paper
  3. Process the butter, malt extract, sugar and egg in a food processor until well combined
  4. Add the flour and pulse until just combined
  5. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts
  6. Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls and place on prepared trays about 4cm apart
  7. Flatten balls to about 1 cm thick and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden
  8. Cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely
Notes
  1. Store in an airtight container for up to a week
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Adapted from Saunder's Malt Extract
H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

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Home-made malt loaf using Paul Hollywood's recipe | H is for Home

We’re big fans of the Great British Bake Off, so we tuned into the recent inaugural series of Paul Hollywood’s Bread (and put his accompanying book onto our Amazon wish-list) with great interest.

malt loaf ingredients

One of the recipes he did which I’ve never attempted before is malt loaf. Whenever I’ve eaten shop bought (and there seems to be just the one brand available in supermarkets!) I’ve always found it a dry, chewy and not very tasty. I thought I’d give it a try – surely I could do better!

malt loaf dough in a pottery mixing bowl

Home-made malt loaf using Paul Hollywood's recipe | H is for Home

Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

Paul Hollywood
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Tea
Cuisine British

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp malt extract
  • 2 tbsp black treacle
  • 25 g/1oz butter plus extra for greasing
  • 350 g/12oz strong white bread flour plus extra for flouring
  • 100 g/3½oz strong wholemeal flour
  • pinch salt
  • 14 g/½oz fast action yeast
  • 225 g/8oz sultanas
  • 250 ml/9fl oz warm water
  • 1 tbsp warm honey to glaze

Instructions
 

  • Place the sugar, malt extract, treacle and butter in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool.
  • Mix the flours, salt, yeast and sultanas in a mixing bowl.
  • Pour in the cooled malt syrup mixture and the warm water. Mix thoroughly; the mixture will be soft and sticky.
  • Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently for a few minutes to bring the mixture together.
  • Grease two
    450g/1lb loaf tins and divide the mixture between them. Smooth the mixture with the back of a spoon so that the top is smooth and level. Cover each tin with a
    reusable food cover so that it is loose and not touching the top of the tin. Leave for a couple of hours, or until the dough has risen to the top of the tins.
  • Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Remove the plastic covers and bake for 30-40 minutes. If the top of the loaf starts to brown too quickly, cover with a sheet of foil and continue baking.
  • Remove from the oven and brush the top with warm honey to glaze. Cool on a wire rack.
  • Slice and eat with butter.
Paul Hollywoood malt loaf ingredients
Keyword cake, loaf cake, malt loaf, tea loaf