Pear Flapjack Cake

I love a good flapjack (and I'm probably not alone!) so in one of my more eccentric moments I came up with this idea to combine the sweet chewiness of a good flapjack with the melting butteriness of a cake. I've also added pears into mine, which gives the cake a fruity extra dimension that I think it needs, but you can experiment with other fruits if you'd like. I've also used a larger tin which ensures a nice balance between the sponge base and flapjack topping.

Prep time: 20 Mins

Baking time: 45 Mins

75g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

150g Jumbo Oats

75g Golden Syrup

150g Unsalted Butter

100g Dark Soft Brown Sugar

50g Golden Syrup

2 Medium Eggs

1tsp Baking Powder

150g Plain Flour

3 Large Pears (Cored and peeled)

So let's begin! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease/line the base of a 23cm springform tin. Rub the 75g of butter into the oats until evenly combined, then stir in the 75g of golden syrup. Set to one side whilst you get on with the cake batter.

In a large bowl cream together the butter with the sugar, then when it is light and fluffy stir through the golden syrup. Beat in the eggs, one at a time then sift in the baking powder and the flower. Mix it all together until you are left with a smooth batter. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and spread it out to the edges. Slice your pears into eighths, then arrange over the top of the batter. You can do this however you want, as long as they are evenly distributed. Break off little pieces of the flapjack mix, and scatter over the cake. It doesn't matter if there are a few gaps as it'll spread out during baking. Place in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the middle of the cake. Remove from the oven and leave to one side for 20 minutes, then carefully remove it from the tin and leave on a wire rack. You can eat this one cold but it's also AMAZING served warm with custard or vanilla ice cream!