Oaty Ginger Crunch

If you love ginger then this is the slice for you. My Dad would have adored this little beauty, and my kids are happily devouring it this week after testing the recipe. You could easily halve all the sugar in both places and it still works and can taste even better to some as the ginger and oats will stand out more.

I found this amidst a large pile of Cuisine magazines my mother collected over the years, and on downsizing we had to finally go through it all – I found some pearls in there, this is one of them. 

This recipe is from a Queenstown café in New Zealand called Bespoke Kitchen  -which won 2015 New Zealand Cafe of the Year and Best Suburban Cafe from 700 entrants.

Pictured: Oaty Ginger Crunch

¾ cup sugar

1 tbsp crystallised ginger, finely chopped

7 tbsp golden syrup, take 2 tbsp out

250g butter, take 150g out

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup almonds, roasted and chopped

¾ cup self-raising flour

½ cup desiccated coconut

4 tsp ground ginger

2 cups icing sugar

3 tbsp chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 170 °C.

Butter and line with baking paper the base and sides of a 21cm x 27cm slice tin – adjust the cooking time if smaller or bigger (i.e. less cooking time if bigger).

Combine the sugar, crystallised ginger, 2 tbsp of golden syrup and 150g of butter in saucepan – melt on low heat stirring regularly. Once melted, add the oats, almonds, flour and coconut – mix well and press into the prepared tin.

Bake 20 minutes, then set aside to cool.

Put the remaining butter, golden syrup, ground ginger and icing sugar in a small saucepan to melt over low heat, stirring til smooth. Pour over the base and sprinkle with pistachios.

Allow to set, then cut into slices

Makes either 12 large slices or 24 small ones