Sesame & Honey Crunch Bars

📝 Ingredients

• 120 g sesame seeds
• 90 g runny honey
• 20 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch fleur de sel
• ½ tsp sunflower oil (for the spatula and knife)

🍴 Utensils

• Frying pan
• Small heavy-based saucepan
• Silicone spatula
• Rolling pin
• Baking tray and baking paper
• Large knife

📖 Steps

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper and have a second sheet of the same size ready. Lightly oil the blade of a large knife and a silicone spatula with the sunflower oil: honey caramel sticks to everything.
2. Dry-toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan over a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until light golden and smelling toasty. Tip them straight into a bowl, or they'll keep darkening in the hot pan.
3. Put the honey, sugar and lemon juice in a small heavy-based saucepan. Heat over a medium heat until boiling, then let it bubble for 5 to 7 minutes without stirring, swirling the pan from time to time, until the mixture turns amber.
4. Check it's ready by dropping a little caramel into a glass of cold water: it should harden immediately and snap cleanly between your fingers. If it stays soft, cook for 1 more minute and test again. If it gets too dark, the honey turns bitter.
5. Lower to a gentle heat, add the toasted sesame, cinnamon and fleur de sel, then stir briskly with the spatula for 1 minute, until all the seeds are coated and the mixture comes away from the sides.
6. Immediately tip the mixture onto the baking paper, cover with the second sheet and roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangle of about 18 × 20 cm and 5 mm thick. Careful, the caramel is scalding: never touch it with bare hands.
7. Peel off the top sheet and leave to cool for 3 to 5 minutes, just long enough for the slab to firm up while staying pliable. Then cut into 12 bars of about 3 × 10 cm with the oiled knife, pressing down firmly without sawing.
8. Leave to cool completely for 20 minutes, then snap the bars apart along the cuts. Store in an airtight container, separated by baking paper and away from moisture: they stay crunchy for a week.