Good Morning Lovelies, 

A few weeks ago, I headed to the amazing city of Belfast to celebrate my birthday! I didn’t tell anyone, only a few close friends, as I wanted to just escape and not have to worry about anything. Going away on a spontaneous break with my mum was exactly what we both needed, as it led to a lot of inspiration on my behalf! Inspiration that helped me create this delicious recipe. 

Using some of the foods and delights that I witnessed on my trip, it combines the best of Ulster baking, as traybakes were something I spotted all over the city. My mum even took a bite out of a few of them, which has caused me to be in the kitchen endlessly making this dockside inspired treacle and apple kind…

Ingredients

200g of Self-Raising Flour

100g of Brown Sugar

100g of Melted Butter + One Tablespoon Extra For The Glace

Two Eggs

120ml of Milk (Any Kind)

One Medium Grated Cooking Apple

One Teaspoon of Cinnamon

½ Teaspoon of Mixed Spice

A Pinch of Salt

Two Tablespoons of Black Treacle 

One Tablespoon of Hot Water

OPTIONAL: 25g of Oats or 25g of Chopped Walnuts

Tools

Baking Paper

A Small Rectangular Baking Tin

A Mixing Bowl

A Mixing Spoon

A Skewer

A Pastry Brush

A Heatproof Bowl

Method

1. To start, preheat your oven to 180ºC, before lining a small rectangular baking tin with baking paper. Place to one side. 
2. Grabbing a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt, before stirring to fully combine.
3. Add in the melted butter (not the tablespoon), eggs, milk and apple and stir again. Then fold in the oats and walnuts if you are using them.
4. Place the well combined mixture into your baking tin and place into the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
5. Whilst the traybake cooks, make the glaze by adding the treacle, tablespoon of butter and hot water in a heatproof bowl, warming in gentle timings in the microwave. 
6. After removing the traybake from the oven, brush the top with the glaze whilst still warm, before allowing it to cool. Then cut into squares and serve.

Super easy to make and easily adaptable to include even more flavours on top of it, such as whipped cream, honey, fresh apple slices or even toasted oats, to make it pop even more! I loved seeing the wonders of Irish food come to life before me on holiday and I am sure you will love seeing them come to life in your home thanks to this recipe! Enjoy lovelies! 

Joey X