Mary Berry’s ginger flapjacks are chewy, golden traybake squares made with porridge oats, demerara sugar, golden syrup, dark chocolate and chopped stem ginger, baked at 160°C (140°C fan) for 35-40 minutes. The recipe makes 24 squares from a 30 x 23cm tin and they keep for up to 2 weeks in a cake tin.
Berry calls these Chocolate and Ginger Flapjacks in Mary Berry Cooks (2014), and her headnote says “flapjacks are the easiest, quickest tray bake to make and are always so popular.” What lifts these above a basic flapjack is the combination of melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder stirred into the butter and sugar base before the oats go in, with chopped stem ginger folded through for heat.
The warning Berry gives matters more than any other step. She says to “take care not to over-bake flapjacks or they become hard and difficult to cut.” They should still feel soft in the centre when you take them out. They firm up as they cool, so pulling them early is the whole trick.
Mary Berry Ginger Flapjacks Recipe
Course: Snacks, SidesCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy24
servings10
minutes35
minutes165
kcal50
minutesBerry’s Chocolate and Ginger Flapjacks from Mary Berry Cooks (2014), a chewy traybake with dark chocolate, cocoa and stem ginger stirred through a classic oat and golden syrup base. Makes 24 squares, keeps 2 weeks, freezes for 2 months.
Ingredients
175g (6 oz) butter
50g (2 oz) dark chocolate, 40-60% cocoa solids
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
225g (8 oz) demerara sugar
75g (3 oz) golden syrup
275g (10 oz) porridge oats
100g (4 oz) stem ginger, drained and finely chopped
Directions
- Prepare the tin: Line a 30 x 23cm (12 x 9 in) traybake or roasting tin with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/Gas 3 (325°F).
- Melt the base: Measure the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar and syrup into a medium pan and warm over a gentle heat until everything is melted and smooth.
- Mix: Stir the oats and ginger into the melted mixture and mix well. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and press flat with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.
- Bake: Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the mixture is bubbling and a little darker at the edges. It will still feel soft in the centre. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.
- Cut: When cold, turn out, remove the paper and cut into 24 squares or slices.
FAQs
Can I make plain flapjacks from this recipe?
Berry gives this exact variation inside the recipe. She says to “omit the chocolate, cocoa and ginger, but increase the butter to 225g (8oz).” Everything else stays the same: same tin, same temperature, same time. That gives you a classic four-ingredient flapjack with just butter, demerara sugar, golden syrup and oats.
Her Classic Flapjacks in Classic (2018) takes a slightly different approach, using 150g muscovado sugar instead of demerara and adding vanilla extract. She bakes those in a smaller 18cm square tin at a higher 180°C/160°C fan for 30 minutes. Both work, but the Mary Berry Cooks version produces a thinner, crispier flapjack.
What type of ginger should I use?
Berry is specific about this. In her Mary’s Wise Words note she says “stem ginger is sometimes called crystallized ginger — for this recipe you should use the type that comes in round balls, stored in syrup.” Drain the ginger well before chopping, or the extra moisture makes the flapjacks sticky in the wrong way.
If you’re not keen on ginger, Berry says to “just leave it out, or use dried apricots instead.” I’ve tried both. The apricot version is sweeter and chewier, but the ginger gives the chocolate a proper kick that dried fruit can’t match.
How do I stop flapjacks going hard?
Berry’s warning appears across almost every flapjack recipe she’s written: do not over-bake. In Mary Berry Cooks (2014) she says they “become hard and difficult to cut.” In her Muesli Flapjacks in the Ultimate Cake Book (2003) she repeats it: “they become impossible to get out of the tin and are very hard to eat.”
Pull them when the edges are golden and bubbling but the centre still feels soft when pressed gently. They firm up completely as they cool. I set a timer for 30 minutes and check every 5 minutes after that. Better to pull them slightly underdone than overdone.
What other flapjack variations does Berry have?
Berry has six flapjack recipes across her books. This Chocolate and Ginger version from Mary Berry Cooks (2014) is the most flavourful. Her Fast Flapjacks in the Ultimate Cake Book (2003) uses margarine instead of butter with just sugar, syrup and oats. The Chocolate Chip Flapjacks in the same book add 100g chocolate chips stirred in once the mixture has cooled so they stay whole.
Her Muesli Flapjacks swap 175g of the oats for muesli, which changes the texture depending on the muesli brand. Berry says “they will turn out differently each time.” Her Classic Flapjacks in Classic (2018) add vanilla extract and use muscovado sugar for a deeper toffee flavour.
How long will these flapjacks keep?
Berry says 2 weeks in a cake tin at room temperature, and they freeze well for up to 2 months in a freezer bag. That makes them one of the longest-lasting bakes in her books. Most of her cakes and sponges last 2-3 days at best.
Layer them between sheets of baking parchment in the tin so they don’t stick together. If they do soften after a few days, 5 minutes in a warm oven at 150°C crisps them back up without overbaking.
