Heidi's Oat Cakes

>> Tuesday, July 12, 2011


Dear sweet old elegant lady at the park,

I'm glad our paths crossed today. 

You were on your afternoon stroll when you saw me taking photos of flowers (roses, specifically), because that's what I do when I need to clear my head.


You must've been intrigued as you walked over and struck up a conversation with me. Am I a high school student, you asked. I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or as a sign to consider a wardrobe makeover. For the sake of my wallet, I picked the former.

You adore roses, you said. Especially ones so dark, rich and deep in colour, because they have the best smelling perfume in the world. You walked over to a naked patch of the garden where only 1 red rose still stands, the rest all stems and thorns - a consequence of this unforgiving winter. This is undoubtedly the best patch during blooming seasons and you said you could never walk past without dipping your nose into them all. Your eyes twinkled then!

Store bought roses are just not the same, they lack in real rose scents. I nodded in agreement.


So it turned out we have a few things in common. Well, for one, we are both terrible gardeners but we love strolling in the park to appreciate the hard work of other gardeners!

Then you told me to wait. What for?

Wait until the summertime when everything will be back to normal again. The richly perfumed flowers will fill the entire garden and it'll be so fragrant that just one sniff is like drowning in a glass of red wine, in your own words.

(I will remember to check there are no insects/bees hiding inside the roses before I smell - thanks for the heads up.)

It seems a long way away, summer, doesn't it? Especially on days when we're bundled up from head to toes and still feeling like popsicles. But experiences from previous years comfort us - it'll come before we know it.


So I told you that I will wait with happy anticipation.

I don't know if our paths will cross again. If they do, I will definitely bring you a tray of these flaxseed oat cakes one day. I just have a strong feeling that you'd totally dig this wonderfully fragrant and healthy (bonus!) treat as I have! 

Thanks for being part of my life today.

Yours sincerely,

The 'high-schooler' with the camera.


This recipe is from Heidi's new cookbook Super Natural Everyday (I've doggy-eared so many pages!). These oat cakes are on the dense/heavy side, really moist and filled with chunky bits of walnuts and deliciously scented by the coconut oil and maple syrup. They are filling too, in a good way of course :) These will be making many many more appearances in my kitchen for sure, and I hope yours too.


Oat Cakes (oats, flax seeds, walnuts)
From Super Natural Everyday via 5 Second Rule
Makes 12 oat cakes
  • 3 cups / 10.5 oz / 300 g rolled oats
  • 2 cups / 8 oz / 225 g spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
  • 1/4 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g flax seeds
  • 3/4 cup / 3 oz / 85 g chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
  • 1/3 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g extra-virgin coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup / 3 oz / 85 g unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup / 180 ml maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g natural cane sugar (I omitted this as the maple syrup is already really sweet)
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F / 160°C with a rack in the top third of the oven. Butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan.

2. Combine the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, flax seeds, and walnuts in a large mixing bowl.

3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the coconut oil, butter, maple syrup, and sugar and slowly melt together. Stir just until the butter melts and sugar has dissolved, but don’t let the mixture get too hot. You don’t want it to cook the eggs on contact in the next step.


4. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture. Stir a bit with a fork, add the eggs, and stir again until everything comes together into a wet dough. Spoon the dough into the muffin cups, nearly filling them.


5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges of each oatcake are deeply golden. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for a couple minutes. Then, run a knife around the edges of the cakes and tip them out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.


~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*

I've finally gotten around to numbering each of the eligible entries for the Baker's Delight Challenge!

(Terribly late I know!)

The 3 winners are:

hy
2 fit and fun gals
Anh

Will email you all soon :)


~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*


Hope you smile today and come across nice people in your path too this week!

23 comments:

Maris(In Good Taste) July 13, 2011 at 8:59 AM  

What gorgeous photos! Sounds like you had a beautiful day!

Anonymous,  July 13, 2011 at 10:14 AM  

WOO SCONES!

hy

Jean July 13, 2011 at 10:16 AM  

you make sweet treats look so legal to enjoy with this recipe :)

Anonymous,  July 13, 2011 at 10:42 AM  

Seems right up my alley! This is perfect for breakfast tomorrow. Thanks, Viv.

Renee@sweetsugarbean July 13, 2011 at 1:00 PM  

I love cool, random encounters like the one you had with the sweet old lady. Lovely photos, too!

PFx July 13, 2011 at 1:12 PM  

Hi Viv,
I hope it wasn't me who asked you about you being a highschool student. It is a hard task you know, aging people.

The walk and the muffin are great treats for clearing the buzz in our heads. Very hippie-indie pictures! Love 'em!

grub July 13, 2011 at 6:09 PM  

haha! the old lady seems nice :D it must be those super foods you are adding to your foods lately that's making you stay young ;)

i'm not a rose person, but i'd love to take photos of sunflowers one day!

Von July 13, 2011 at 6:38 PM  

I love conversation with strangers :D Summer doesn't seem too far away- this year has passed way too quick for me! These cakes look delicious! I was just reading about coconut oil yesterday and wondering what kinda of recipe it would be used in....haha :)

Viv July 13, 2011 at 9:23 PM  

Maris: Thanks, it was a good day.

hy: Yay HY, I'll send the scones voucher to you soon.

Jean: Yes, u can have a dozen of them without feeling guilty...hehe. or not!

ricekernel: hope it turns out great - I had it for breakfast for a few days now.

Renee: I know, me too. Not everyday that I get to talk to random ppl.

PFx: I'm pretty sure it wasn't you who asked haha. Thanks - had fun with editing the photos!

grub: my forever young potion hahaha. nah, think some ppl just can't tell the age of Asians! :P

Von: That's true...years gone by too quickly! I love using coconut oil in my recipes these days esp for baking!

Aizi: you're sweet! :P

Erika Beth, the Messy Chef July 14, 2011 at 7:16 AM  

Aw! What a lovely "letter." I, too, talked to an older woman on a bench in the middle of busy broadway on teh Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was a nice, lovely chat about how great NYC is. (BTW, your Oat Cakes look great!)

sugarpuffi July 14, 2011 at 6:10 PM  

aww that is such a sweet story! and im sure that if you two will ever meet again, she will enjoy your oat cakes :D

Joanne July 14, 2011 at 8:43 PM  

If you want to come visit me, you'll get more summer and humidity than you ever knew you wanted! Hint hint.

These photos are gorgeous and the oat cakes...I've bookmarked them also. Now I've double bookmarked them.

Amy J. and Tiffanie A. July 15, 2011 at 5:39 AM  

YUM This look SO GOOD!!!! I would totally eat this with my yogurt in the am!

We just started following you! cannot wait for new recipes!

Love,

http://chickswholovetoeat.blogspot.com/

Lori@FakeFoodFree July 15, 2011 at 12:35 PM  

These oatcakes sound so good. I haven't checked out the new cookbook. I definitely need to give it a look. This is my kind of breakfast!

hanushi July 16, 2011 at 12:12 AM  

That seems like a wonderful encounter that you had!! :) Do I need to say more about your oat cakes, they are simply awesome and stole my WOWs again.

chopinandmysaucepan July 16, 2011 at 12:59 PM  

Your photos are so beautiful! I especially like that twilight shot with the bare tree branches on moon.

Viv July 16, 2011 at 1:19 PM  

Erika: aww really...i love random conversations with strangers too, altho sometimes its scary initiating it! seems like ppl in NY are more friendly than I had thought :P

sugarpuffi: hehe thanks. i hope so too, and that she doesnt think im some strange girl offering weird cakes.

Joanne: i think i get your hint. but i just need to get myself a ticket first to NY :P

Amy & Tiff: THanks for following - I hope you'll make this soon for brekkie :)

Lori: I think you'd like the cookbook too...it is your kind of food for sure :)

hanushi: Yes it was :) Glad those oaties were able to steal your wows hehehe.

chopinandmysaucepan: thank you :) i had a lot of fun taking the photos after i talked to thelady haha. yea thats one of my fav shots too, the moon!

Maria July 16, 2011 at 2:52 PM  

These look perfect, I love Heidi's recipes!

Lisa @ Tarte du Jour July 17, 2011 at 5:11 AM  

I love this story about your encounter with a lovely elderly lady. Priceless! Your oak cakes look delicious and healthy!!

Jessica's Dinner Party July 18, 2011 at 4:02 PM  

What a wonderful encounter you had! I love moments like that.
I've always wanted to try out those oat cakes, maybe this'll give me a push to give them a go.

Viv July 19, 2011 at 3:26 PM  

Maria: Thanks, me too :)

Lisa: Haha thanks! :)

Jessica: Yes yes, go make it soon *push*

That's Ron July 19, 2011 at 9:41 PM  

oh my u've got great recipes . love ur blog

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