Food and cooking articles and information:

Anthony Worrall Thompson demonstrates
. . . how to make Cherry, Apricot and Chocolate Chip Flapjacks

Thursday 15th May 2008 sees Celebrity Chef Antony Worrall Thompson launch his new cookbook The Sweet Life: 101 Indulgent Recipes with Less Sugar which contains 101 dessert recipes for the health conscious.

With eight chapters dedicated to desserts, jams and spreads, the book is aimed at those who have a sweet tooth but want to maintain a healthy diet, as all recipes use a low calorie sweetener as an alternative to sugar.

Antony decided to focus on puddings for his latest cookbook when he was told to cut down his sugar intake after being diagnosed with a pre-diabetic condition. As a result he took a look at his diet and found new ways of enjoying sweet treats without using sugar as an ingredient.

Antony chose to team up with his good friend Melinda Messenger on this book to gain a mum's input into The Sweet Life. Melinda has contributed eight of her favourite recipes to the book, including bakewell tarts and carrot cake muffins.

To order a copy of The Sweet Life: 101 Indulgent Recipes with Less Sugar by Antony Worrall Thompson from Amazon - click here

CHERRY, APRICOT AND CHOCOLATE CHIP FLAPJACKS RECIPE

Ingredients for Flapjacks

175g butter, plus extra for greasing
175g golden syrup
4 tablespoons Splenda granulated sweetener (see below)
300g porridge oats
pinch of salt
50g dried cherries, halved
75g ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped
40g white chocolate chips
40g dark or milk chocolate chips

How to make Flapjacks

The dried cherries and chocolate chips give these flapjacks a delicious new twist!

• Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4. Grease a 20cm square baking tin and line it with greaseproof paper - by leaving an overhang of paper, the flapjacks will be easier to remove later.

• Melt the butter with the golden syrup in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.

• Mix together the sweetener, porridge oats, salt, cherries, apricots and chocolate chips. Add to the saucepan and stir together until thoroughly mixed. Tip into the prepared tin and level the surface with the back of a spoon.

• Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes, then remove from the tin and cut into 16 squares. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Keep in an airtight container, or wrap in greaseproof paper.

Makes 16

To order a copy of The Sweet Life: 101 Indulgent Recipes with Less Sugar by Antony Worrall Thompson from Amazon - click here

Published 15 may 2008