Honey Slice is the kind of tray bake that’s as comforting as it is easy to make. Packed with oats, coconut and cornflakes and sweetened with honey. It’s chewy, golden, and just the right amount of nostalgia. Perfect for packed lunches, snack tins, or an afternoon treat with a cuppa.
At first glance, you’d be forgiven for assuming this was our famous Flapjack. However, on closer inspection and taste, you will find that it is actually quite different. Coconut, cornflakes, and, of course, honey are what make our Honey Slice a classic all on its own.
This is actually an old recipe that Granny used to make for some of the local cafes where she provided home baking. The reason it was so popular, aside from being delicious, was its ability to be easily transformed into a gluten-free and dairy-free option. And when we talk about this being 20 years ago, that really was a rarity!
Whether you make your Honey Slice free-from or not, the chances are you will have all the ingredients to hand, as this recipe is made with some classic food cupboard staples. Cornflakes, oats, coconut, sugar, butter and honey… as easy as that! My favourite kind of baking, let’s be honest.
What is also great about Honey Slice is that the kids love it. I wasn’t sure if it would be a hit with both our boys, as one is a honey-fiend – he will literally have honey on anything. Toast, porridge, Scotch pancakes… Whereas the other is a bit like his mother, not the biggest honey fan. However, just like his mother, it turns out he can appreciate honey when used within a recipe, even if we still don’t want it spread on our toast!
If you’re not a big fan of honey, you can try swapping it out for some Golden Syrup or Maple Syrup instead. Although I’m not sure you can technically call it Honey Slice in that case…
Ingredients for Honey Slice:
Cornflakes
The butter/margarine & honey does give this tray bake a nice golden colour, but there’s no denying that cornflakes contribute to that too. Not too common in a traybak,e but I think in this recipe it helps separate it from being just a “honey and coconut flapjack.”
And if you’d like to make this a Gluten-free Honey Slice, you can easily use gluten-free cornflakes.
Oats
Rolled porridge oats are ideal for Honey Slice, but you can experiment with different sizes and textures, or simply use whatever you have to hand.
Oats naturally don’t contain much/any gluten, but if you are catering to a coeliac diet, using gluten-free oats is recommended to make this a gluten-free tray bake.
Desiccated Coconut
Once your Honey Slice is mixed and baked, the coconut can be hard to spot. However, the flavour remains and gives this bake a whole other depth. The boys commented on it straight away! If you aren’t a coconut fan, you could try substituting it with some ground almonds instead.
Caster Sugar
Much like flapjack, Honey Slice can be perceived as a slightly healthier snack, but the amount of sugar in them tends to outweigh the somewhat false healthy reputation these traybakes carry. It’s better if we can accept that the oats might be better than chocolate, but that they are still very much a sweet treat…particularly when you see how much sugar they really have!
Butter or Margarine
Either will do, and it’s personal preference which you choose. I opt for margarine as a way to omit the dairy, but you can use any butter you have to hand. However, if you do choose to opt for margarine, try to use a block margarine rather than a spreadable one; this is due to the differing water content affecting the overall recipe.
Honey
Yes, the coconut gives Honey Slice a bit of depth, but it’s the honey that is the real flavour maker! A runny honey is a safe bet, but since you will be melting it with the butter/margarine, any honey should work well.
More Oat Recipes You'll Love:
Top Tips for Perfect Honey Slice:
• Use Runny Honey: A pourable honey mixes best with the dry ingredients and helps create that chewy, golden finish. If you’ve had your honey for a while and it has begun to crystallise, just warm it gently before using.
• Don’t Overbake: The Honey Slice tray bake should be just starting to turn golden at the edges. It will firm up as it cools, so don’t worry if it still feels soft in the middle when it comes out of the oven.
• Press it Down Firmly: Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to press the mixture into your tin. This helps the Honey Slice hold it’s shape once sliced.
Let it Cool Completely: It can be tempting to dig in early, but wait until it has cooled completely. This makes cutting easier and helps avoid the slices from crumbling.
Honey Slice
EQUIPMENT
- Small Pan
- Chopping Board
INGREDIENTS
- 45 g Cornflakes
- 120 g Porridge Oats (Rolled Oats)
- 120 g Desiccated Coconut (Shredded Coconut)
- 165 g Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar)
- 125 g Butter or Block Margarine
- 2 tbsp Honey
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 160°c (140°c for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 2 or 325°F). Generously grease an 11x7-inch baking tin with some excess butter/margarine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, gently crush your cornflakes with the back of a spoon – be cautious not to crush them too much, as you still want them to give a bit of texture and crunch.
- Add the oats, coconut and caster sugar to the cornflakes. Mix the dry ingredients until they are combined.
- In a small pan, melt the butter/margarine and honey over a low heat.
- Pour the butter/margarine and honey mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix until combined.
- Tip the mixture into your pre-greased tin. With the back of a spoon, push the mixture into the corners, flattening it evenly into the tin.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until it is a warm, golden colour.
- Leave to cool completely before turning out onto a chopping board and cutting into slices or squares.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
- See my Tips for Success above for more tips for the perfect Honey Slice.
- Honey Slice is best enjoyed the day it is baked, but it can be stored in an airtight container for a few days. The texture may change over the course of a few days - this is normal.
- You can freeze Honey Slice by first cutting into squares/slices, individually wrapping in clingfilm and tin foil. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before eating.
- See the Free-from & Vegan box below for tips on how to make your Honey Slice vegan or free-from.
Free-from & Vegan:
Gluten-free: This recipe can be easily adapted to make a gluten-free Honey Slice. Most oats and Cornflakes are naturally gluten-free, but it’s always worth double-checking or opting for ones from a free-from range to be sure.
Nut-free: There are no nuts used in this recipe (coconut isn’t actually a nut!), but always double-check your other ingredients for unexpected nuts when making a nut-free Honey Slice.
Egg-free: No eggs are required in Honey Slice, making this an egg-free tray bake recipe.
Dairy-free: To make this a dairy-free tray bake recipe, use a dairy-free margarine in place of the butter.
Vegan: To make a vegan honey slice, simply use a dairy-free margarine instead of butter, and swap the honey for some golden syrup. It won’t technically be a Honey Slice without the honey, but it will still be a delicious vegan tray bake.
N.B. Any advice or suggestions to make recipes “free-from” or vegan are purely that – suggestions. Please be careful to double check all ingredients individually, taking extra caution when serving to those with allergies & intolerances.
Originally published in September 2021. Updated in May 2025.
Thank you to Naomi Seiler for creating the updated photos.
11 responses
This looks delicious. Why can I not save these recipes??
I’m making this tomorrow, so not yet able to rate, but looks a nice easy one, and scrummy! I do either a print screen/screen shot, screen snip or copy and paste. I put them into a word document as I’m fussy about layout and font size, then copy to OneNote so I can use iPad in kitchen
Lovely and tasty
Mine needed 25 mins in the oven.
I reduced the sugar to 80g and baked for 20mins.
Cooled in the pan but very crumbly, was saved by rolling the cooked mix in to balls.
Very tasty!
Very tasty – mine needed 20mins to bake.
Thanks for all these recipes – my grandchildren love them.
Very delicious. I have made 2 batch of these cornflake slices they did’nt hang around. They are very sweet so the 2nd batch I used much less sugar and they were still acceptable.
What a rude reply. Not every recipe suits everyone.
Mine fell apart a little bit but a neighbour brought me some rhubarb so I stewed that and the remaining crumbly bits will be going on the top of that. The flavour is lovely but perhaps if I had baked them longer they would look like a tray bake !
I’m a novice baker and this is the best and tastiest recipe for a type of flapjack that I’ve tried so far. The folk at the Kirk loved it with or without their coffee.
Love the recipes on this site so fly cemeteries next – I’ve never made any type of pastry so here goes!!!
I would post a picture but can’t work out how to do this??
I have an evil sweet tooth that demanded a drizzle of icing sugar over the cooked slice, but the recipe is really delicious. Thank you for posting it!
Truly delicious but crumbles. Possibly needs for flour or egg to hold together