Apricot, White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Baked Oatmeal

I always sit wondering what to write in these posts when I've created more than one in a day. But it would look weird if I just had tons of pictures and the recipe. As always I'll simply say this was a great breakfast. Based of a blondie recipe.

Not very colourful but it smelt beautiful.

Now I know that both white chocolate AND macadamia nuts aren't as high in nutrients as they are in fat, etc. But a little indulgence in everyday life never hurt anyone. Gooey apricots with some crunch and melty chunks of chocolate might not be the most nutritious of breakfast, but it surely sets you off with a smile.

Apricot, White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Baked Oatmeal

Ingridents:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats

1/4 Tsp Baking powder

Pinch of Salt

1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

1/3 Cup/80ml Milk of choice

1 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice, (Optional, if you've got an extra sweet tooth)

Handful of dried Apricots, chopped

Small handful, 1/8 cup of Macadamia nuts roughly chopped

Handful of White chocolate chips or bar chopped to chunks

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

Method:

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

2.Mix on dry ingredients till well combined. Add in the vanilla, sweetener and then the milk, bit by bit till the oats are wet but not sloppy.

3. Fold in the fruit, nuts and chocolate. Pour into a prepared dish and bake for 15-17 minutes. Till the oats are golden and the chocolate has melted.

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.

Dark Chocolate Apricot Almond Baked Oatmeal

This combination works. I was questioning it every second up until I tried the final outcome. And was pleasantly surprised. The apricots are gooey, nuts crunchy and the melted chocolate is bitter but perfect.

Dark Chocolate Apricot Almond Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats

1/4 Tsp Baking powder

Pinch of Salt

2 TBSP Cocoa powder

1/4 Tsp Vanilla extract

2 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetner of choice to taste

1/2 Cup/120ml Milk of choice

Handful of dried apricots

Handful of slivered almonds

Handful of dark chocolate chips

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

Method:

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

2. Mix all dry ingredients till combined. Mix in the sweetener, vanilla and then the milk bit by bit till the oats are wet but not sloppy. Add in the apricots, almonds and chocolate chips and pour into a prepared dish.

3. Bake for 17-20 minutes.

Coconut Strawberry Thumbprint Baked Oatmeal

Based of a recipe I remeber seeing on 'Barefoot Contessa' this recipe was a last minute recipe. One I made to use up some more of my strawberry jam from the newly discovered naturally sweetened brand.

It's simply a pimped out version of a basic thumbprint baked oatmeal.

Coconut Strawberry Jam Thumbprint Baked Oatmeal

I was craving coconut when I made this up. Use which ever flavour jam you want. Blueberry or raspberry would be fantastic. Or go more creative with plum, pineapple or apricot.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats
1/4 Tsp Baking powder
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract
3 TBSP desiccated Coconut
2 TBSP Jam

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180 C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Mix up all the dry ingredients tilll combined. Add the vanilla and then mix in the milk bit by bit till the oats are wet but not sloppy. Add in the 2 TBSP coconut. Pour into a prepared dish. Using a spoon create a well in the center and fill with your chosen jam.
3. Bake for 5 minutes. Take out and sprinkle the rest of the coconut around the jam. Put back in the oven and cook until the oats are set, jam bubbling and coconut toasted and golden.

Chocolate Orange Oatcakes

I have seen this stack made many a time, and decided to post a recipe to my own interpretation. The flavor combination is classic.

You won't be able to taste any banana. Promise. The orange masks it perfectly.

Chocolate Orange Oatcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats
1/4 Tsp Baking powder
Pinch of Salt
2 TBSP Cocoa powder
1/4 Tsp Vanilla extract
1 Banana

Toppings:
Maple Vanilla greek yogurt, 1 TBSP of cocoa powder
Raw chocolate sauce
Orange segments
Cacao nibs

Method:

1. Zest your orange, and segment. Set aside the segments. squeeze the juice from the orange 'carcus' into a glass.
1. Blend Oats, baking powder and cocoa powder to a fine flour, saving the tbsp for adding later.
2. Blend in the banana, vanilla, zest and half the milk at first. Add the orange juice tablespoon at a time till you get the right consistency. It should be thick like paint. Add in the oats and mix in.
3. Heat a pan or griddle over a meduim heat. Once its ready spray with non stick spray.
4. Spoon batter into the pan and smooth into rounds, 1/4 measures or a heaped TBSP is the right size. When bubbles form on the surface and the edges of are set enough to get a spatula underneath flip them over and cook for another minute on the other side. Repeat till on the batter has been used up.
5. Serve layered with toppings of choice. (Mix the cocoa powder with half the yogurt to make chocolate yogurt.)

Raw Chocolate sauce

Raw Chocolate Sauce

Raw in the way that its not cooked, as the maple syrup stops it from begin fully RAW. Obviously you could use the same recipe subbing stevia or any other raw sweetener.

Ingredients:

1-2 TBSP Cocoa powder

2 Tsp Maple syrup

2-3 TBSP Milk of choice

Method:

1. Mix the maple syrup and cocoa powder till combined and smooth.

2. Add the milk to your chosen consistency. Keep it thick or make it into a real sauce.

Apricot Pecan Baked Oatmeal

This was the first time I ever tried dried apricots. Really it was my first real try of apricots. And I like them. Being dried their extremely dense and gooey.

I used naturally sun dried apricots, with nothing added to keep that fake tan. So their mostly browned. And go very well the crunchy, sweet pecans. As I was using dried fruit I left out any sweetener.

Apricot and Pecan Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats

1/4 Tsp Baking powder

Pinch of Salt

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4-1/2 Tsp Orange zest, depending on taste

1/2 Cup/120ml Milk of choice

Handful of dried apricots, chopped

Handful of raw Pecans, roughly chopped

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

Method:

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

2. Mix the dry ingredients till well combined. Add the vanilla, zest and then the milk bit by bit till you get the right consistency. You want the oats to be wet but not sloppy. Add in the apricots and pecans. Pour into a prepared dish and push a few pecans into the top. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the oats are golden and the pecans are toasted. You don't want to leave it in too long or the nuts will burn.