No matter how elaborate a dessert I produce my dear husband would almost, without fail, prefer something less fancy. I’ve noticed this among the men in my life; Dad, father-in-law, brother and so on, they have a taste for the simpler bakes. This is one of them. My husband’s favourite: the simplest of all, the flapjack. They aren’t a slimline option, however, so if you’re feeling tubby just don’t eat them all at once and you’ll be fine.

Oven temperature: 180Celsius

Butter – 210g

Demerera Sugar (normal brown sugar) – 120g

Light muscavado sugar – 80g

Golden syrup – 3 heaped tablespoons

A mix of porridge oats, jumbo oats and a bit of wheat bran* – 320g

(if you have random ends of packets of things like sultanas, other dried fruit bits, chocolate etc you can throw them in too)

Preheat your oven. Line a 20cm x 17cm tin (or one about that size) with baking parchment. Put the butter, sugars and golden syrup in a large pan (big enough to fit the oats later) and place on a medium heat. Give it an occasional stir and when the sugars dissolve increase the heat and let the mixture bubble for about a minute. It should look like the picture below.

Pour the oats into the pan on top of the butter-sugar goo. Stir to combine and pour into the prepared tin. Using the back of a spoon, squish them into the corners. Place in the preheated oven. If your oven is as uneven as mine I suggest that after 15mins you turn the tin 180 degrees so that they bake equally. In total they take between 20 to 25mins. They’re cooked when they are deep, golden brown and bubbling. Do not be tempted to touch them till they cool, you will instantly regret it if you do. Feckin’ hot does not begin to describe them. Cut them into pieces as big as you like.

* I use a mixture of oats. The proportions depend on what I have left in the cupboard. It has a better texture with both types of oats and the wheat bran is really just to convince myself that this can be considered a cereal bar.