Bleeding Eyeball Baked Oatmeal

Its soon to be October, and therefore it's soon to be Halloween. After my birthday of course. And I wanted to get my first 'Halloween special' up onto the blog. There will be one, maybe two more in the next couple of weeks, I'm gonna try to make both a stove top and overnight oat recipe to complete a trifector of ghoulisly good breakfasts.

I got this idea from the many 'Lava Cake' baked oatmeal recipes out there. Like the spicy one I did earlier in the week. Wanting to do something a little out there for my all-hallows eve seasonal specials I thought this would be fun, and a little gross, but still tasty.

It maybe a little extra work, but I think it's worth it.

Doesn't it look cool though?And the best part isn't even the exterior. Cause on this blog, or at least in this post, its whats on the inside that counts. What's oozing out, of the inside to be exact.

Bleeding Eyeball Baked Oatmeal

This oatmeal is perfect for the spooky season, customize it how you want. Pick your poison. So to speak. When it comes to flavouring your base, choose whatever, I used almond extract so it was a little bakewell-ish, but change it up. Coconut extract, almond extract, plain vanilla, throw in a mashed banana, colour it. Go nuts. Add nuts! with a little nut butter or PB2.

For the filling use whatever jam/jelly you want. Be posh and use some weird conserve or preserve if you've got it. I kept it blood coloured with good old strawberry but make your breakfast royal, use blueberry and give 'em 'blue blood'. Its up to you.

And finally the eye colour, I wanted to use a natural colouring and opted for blueberry juice for a violet colour. (Yes, people do have them, I checked.) But try melted chocolate for brown, or spinach for green, if your into that sort of thing, (The veg not the eye colour) or just go super crazy and colourful. Its halloween after all.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats

1/4 Tsp Baking powder

Pinch of Salt

1/3 Cup/80ml Milk of choice

1/4-1/2 Tsp of Almond extract

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

Filling/bloodvessels:

2 TBSP of jam of choice

Violet iris:

Few thawed blueberries, just the juice is needed, eat the fruit

1 TBSP Yogurt (I used 1 TBSP from my white yogurt (Maple Vanilla greek yogurt)

The 'white':

1 serving of Maple Vanilla greek yogurt, or any white colour yogurt (If using a different one, your only need around 4-5 TBSP

Pupil:

Half a thawed cherry

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Make up your 'white' yogurt if using my recipe. Add 1 TBSP of this into the blueberry juices and mix to make a violet colour. Put both in the fridge to chill.
3. Mix all of dry ingredients, including flax, till combined. Mix in extract of choice, or mashed banana, and then the milk bit by bit, till you get the right consistency, you want the oats to be wet but not sloppy. Spoon half into a prepared dish. Spoon in about 1-11/2 TBSP of the jam into the center. Don't let it go too near the sides. Use your judgement because the rest of your oats will have to cover the jam completely. Pour over the remaining oats and push down on the edges lightly to make sure there isn't a gap between the two halves where jam can seep out. Bake for 15-17 minutes, till set solid and slighlty golden. If jam does come out but its set enough to get it out of the dish take it out of the oven, otherwise let it bake till it is. Let sit for 1-2 minutes then run a knife around the edge and invert onto a plate. You can keep it in the dish but you want get the same oozy effect.
4. Smooth on the 'white' yogurt onto the top, then scoop the 'iris' yogurt into the centre and smooth into a circle. Plop the 'pupil' into the center and with your remaining jam (You can warm it up for a few seconds to make this easier) drizzle on some 'blood-vessels' going towards the iris. Enjoy.