Pack up a picnic box with these carrot cake flapjacks to eat on the go. Full of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, they’re great to take on a big family walk
Prep:15 mins
Makes 12
170g butter, chopped, plus extra for the tin200g pitted dates, roughly chopped250g honey2 large carrots, coarsely grated300g rolled oats100g dried cranberries150g dried apricots, chopped70g chopped walnuts70g mixed seeds2 tsp mixed spice2 tsp ground cinnamon
STEP 1Boil the kettle. Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½, butter a 20 x 30cm cake tin and line with baking parchment. Tip the dates into a heatproof bowl and cover with 60ml boiling water from the kettle. Set aside to rehydrate for 10 mins, then tip into a food processor and blitz until smooth.STEP 2Melt the butter and honey in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Tip the carrots, oats, cranberries, apricots, chopped walnuts, mixed seeds, mixed spice, cinnamon and a small pinch of salt into a large bowl. Stir the sweetened butter and puréed dates into the dry ingredients until combined, then tip into the prepared tin and press into an even layer using a spatula. Bake for 45-50 mins, covering with foil halfway through if the flapjacks brown too quickly. Cool in the tin. Once completely cool, chill in the fridge for at least 3 hrs.STEP 3For the icing, whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle the icing over the flapjacks and cut into 12 bars. Will keep, covered in the fridge, for three days.
