A few weeks ago, I signed up for an account at allrecipes.com for inspiration on trying new dishes. One of the first notifications I received in my email inbox was for Scottish Oatcakes.
Traditionally, Scottish oatcakes are more like biscuits that you cook in the oven. The version I discovered follows a recipe similar to a recipe for pancakes, but with oatmeal simmered for a minute in a heavy or light cream that gets added to the mix. The result is an oatmeal pancake with a crunchy outside sealing away a soft and creamy texture, which is excellent with maple syrup, or even better with apple butter.
The recipe for Scottish Oatcakes is by Chef John, and you can find more of his tasty creations at foodwishes.com.
Also, I would highly recommend you make the batter the night before, because the longer the oat mixture cools and sits, the creamier the oatcakes get. If you choose to use a light cream instead of heavy cream, the amount of flour you use doubles, since the light cream doesn’t absorb as easily into the oats as heavy cream does.
I found all the ingredients for the oatmeal pancakes at Stop & Shop, and they take 6 to 10 minutes to cook. The oats used in the oatmeal pancakes are regular rolled oats, not instant oats.
Scottish Oatcakes
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup light cream
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 large egg
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. honey
¼ tsp. salt
¼ cup melted butter
Simmer the oats in light cream for one minute and transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and mix in the egg. With a wooden spoon, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, honey, and salt until the mixture gets as thick as pancake batter. Any less will make the mix too flimsy to be flipped when cooking it.
Let the mixture sit for at least an hour before cooking to let the cream soak into the oats. In a cast-iron pan on medium-low heat, melt the butter, and use a ¼ cup container to spoon out the oatmeal pancake mixture. By this point the mixture will be very thick, so make sure to flatten the oat oatcake to your desired size. Cook until golden brown, and serve with your favorite fruit, syrup, or apple butter for a unique and satisfying breakfast.