Jaffa Cake Baked Oatmeal

I love Jaffa Cakes. Their beautiful. And one of the most moreish things on the planet.

If you can't get Jaffa Cakes in your country, their a type of biscuits. Well, legally, and I mean legally, their cakes, as McVitie's had to defend them in court with the UK's VAT Tribunal, as, if classed as cakes us Brit's wouldn't have to pay VAT on the chocolate orange tea time treats. They won. Meaning we all won.

See I do thorough research before I post. And I learn some interesting stuff. I.e that we don't have to pay VAT on cakes BUT we do on biscuits.

Anyway. For those who do not know. They consist of a layer of genoise sponge, topped with a disc of orange flavour jelly and coated in chocolate. Named after Jaffa oranges they are a firm favourite of everyone, child or grown up. So much loved they like Kit Kat's, split people into two camps on just how to eat them. The first, (I.e The weirdos) eat them like normal biscuits in a few bites. The other, first tackle the edges of sponge around the circle of jelly, eat/lick off the chocolate, and peel away the remaining sponge, to finally devour the disc of orangey goodness. I being a proud member of the latter camp, thing the other is just...wrong.

Now as you all know I like to healthify my temptations. Jaffa Cakes were high on my list. I tried once before, attempting to use real orange in place of the jelly and it was disastrous. But after finding a naturally sweetened orange marmalade I knew exactly what I was going to make with it when I got the chance.

I know that the original doesn't have a chocolate sponge layer but I knew that pouring warm chocolate over marmalade was just going to end in a mess. So I thought it through and decided it was best to encase the orange center with something solid. In a way its just like a molten middle baked oatmeal. Something I've done a lot of lately.

Even with this alteration it was the closet imitation of a Jaffa Cake I think I could possibly get to. It was just fantastic.

Jaffa Cake Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats

1/4 Tsp Baking powder

Pinch of Salt

1 Tsp Vanilla extract

1-1 1/2 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice, to taste

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

1-2 TBSP Marmalade or orange jam/jelly/preserve

Chocolate layer:

1/2 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice

1 Tsp Cocoa powder

Chocolate of choice, Dark or milk. Not white. Either chips or bar, you need enough to coat the top.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/ Gas Mark 4.

2. Mix the all the dry ingredients, aside from the cocoa powder until combined. Mix in the vanilla, sweetener and then the milk bit by bit till the oats are wet but not sloppy.

3. Scoop 1 1/2- 2 TBSP of the mixture into another bowl and add the extra sweetener and cocoa. Mix till thoroughly combined, you may have to add more milk to get it to the wet consistency. Taste a little bit. If its to bitter for you add more sweetener.

3. Pour the plain oats into a prepared dish. Make a small well in the center, careful not to go all the way to the bottom and spoon in the marmalade. Don't let it go near the edges or put in too much. Remember your chocolate mixture has to cover it completely. Pour over the chocolate oats. If there's not enough to cover the marmalade AND go all the way to the edges just make sure the filling is covered. Push down the edges of the chocolate mixture lightly so that there isn't any gaps the filling can come out of.

4. Bake for 15-17 minutes or till set enough to remove from the dish and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Heat the chocolate for 30 second blasts in the microwave till smooth. Run a knife around the edges of the oatmeal and very carefully invert onto a plate, quickly turning it the right way up so the filling doesnt squidge out. Pour over the chocolate. Enjoy.