Oat, Date and Apple Traybake

Introduce

Chef :

Joanne

Oat, Date and Apple Traybake

I found an abandoned packet of Christmas dates in my cupboard, and also had three sad looking apples in the fruit bowl, so I found this recipe that used both, together with oats, which I think are miraculous and could eat three times a day. This is a super-easy traybake, and the date and apple filling cooks down into a toffee-like goo that completely fooled my 'I don't like dates' daughter:)

Ingredient

225 g

butter, plus extra for greasing

140 g

peeled, cored and sliced apple

140 g

stoned dates, any kind, chopped

280 g

light soft brown sugar

175 g

plain flour

1 tsp

bicarbonate of soda

100 g

porridge oats, plus an extra 50g

Cooking instructions

* Step 1

Heat the oven to 190C/Gas 5. Butter an 18cm square tin and line with baking parchment. Place the sliced apples into a pan with 2 tbsp water. Bring to a simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes until tender and slightly pulpy.

* Step 2

Add the chopped dates and 50g of the sugar, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Take off the heat and break the apples down with the back of a spoon until smooth and well mixed with the dates. Set aside.

* Step 3

Gently melt the butter in a separate pan. Mix the flour, bicarbonate, oats and remaining sugar in a bowl. Pour the dry mixture into the melted butter and stir well until oats are coated.

* Step 4

Evenly spread half the oat mixture into the tin and press down firmly to create a base, spread the date and apple mix on top and smooth over. Mix in an extra 25-50g oats to the oat mixture in the pan at this point (this wasn't in the recipe but I thought the mixture needed a bit of dryness to crumble nicely, and I was right).

* Step 5

Sprinkle over the remaining oat mixture to cover the date mixture. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and firm. Cool in the tin before cutting into squares.