Oatmeal Cakes

One morning, at a local restaurant for breakfast I ordered steel cut oatmeal. I was a little taken aback when an oatmeal cake arrived instead. What a pleasant surprise. It was a perfect combination of crispy and chewy, served with a tangy fruit compote, it was a completely new experience in oatmeal. So, when it was eventually removed from the menu I challenged my chef to recreate the experience. I really should have started with him in the first place.

We're calling them Oatmeal Cakes with fruit and yogurt. Made a couple days ago when I was in dire need of yogurt. Start with a pot of Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal. Add approximately 10% more oats than specified on the recipe (without extra water), to make a thicker base. When adding the oats to the water, add 3-4 ground cloves, 1 tsp dehydrated orange peel, 1/2 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. About 1 minute before the oatmeal is done cooking, add 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp powered ginger, 1 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp brown sugar. Turn heat to simmer, cook 2-3 minutes to thicken, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Heat frying pan on medium high flame, add 1 tbsp butter. Spoon oatmeal by the heaping tbsp onto pan, flip when brown, place on plate, top with whatever combination of yogurt and fruit you prefer. We obviously chose bananas and blueberries, add bacon. Devine.