Ivy honey is the assertive one in the range - it sets hard and pale in the jar, but melts readily into a warm pot, which makes it one of the more practical honeys to bake with. Paired here with stem ginger, you get two strong flavours that genuinely meet each other. Neither one disappears into the background.
Tips from Niamh: Ivy honey has a real punch, and that’s why it works here - the assertive ginger meets it head on, so neither one is asking to be subtle. Melting the honey into the mix means its hard set is a non-issue. Don’t overbake them - golden at the edges and still a little soft in the middle is right; they firm up as they cool, so leave them in the tin until cold before you cut.
Ingredients
- 250g porridge oats
- 150g butter
- 100g Peninsula Ivy Honey
- 50g soft brown sugar (optional)
- 3-4 balls of stem ginger, finely chopped (plus 1 tbsp of the syrup, optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 160 C and line a baking tin.
- Gently melt the butter, ivy honey and sugar (if using) together in a pot.
- Stir in the oats and chopped stem ginger (and the syrup, if using) until well coated.
- Press firmly into the tin.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden at the edges. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then cut into squares.
If you want to understand why ivy honey behaves so differently from the other jars - why it sets that stiff, pale colour - the post on why ivy honey sets hard is worth a read. And if you’re after an ivy honey recipe that uses no oven at all, the ivy honey and lemon hot toddy is two minutes of work.