Christmas is over and I am back to trying to find some nice items to bake. I decided on oat cakes. Now they are usually a biscuit(UK biscuit not US biscuit), and quite plain. But I stumbled across a recipe for a chocolate version, which is more of a small cake than a traditional biscuit. I got the recipe from The Food Network. I didn’t follow it precisely, as I dont have mini muffin tins. I do have a shallow bun pan and decided to use that for 12, and to ‘drop’ the remainder onto a baking sheet. I also used slightly more of the mixture than the prescribed table spoon, so I had 16 rather than the suggested 20. I also substituted oat bran for the wheat germ as I couldn’t find the latter in the supermarket. Research on the internet suggest oat bran as a good alternative and I had that in my cupboard already.
The mixture was rather dry and I was tempted to add a little milk to moisten it somewhat, but I resisted the urge. I also adjusted the cooking time to 20 minutes.
The result is a very tasty biscuit, which is crisp on the outside, and slightly soft on the inside, with a lovely flavour of cardamom and chocolate.
I reproduce the original recipe and instructions below.
- 35g hazelnuts, finely chopped
- 100g plain flour
- 50g Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 25g wheat germ
- 45g rolled old-fashioned oats
- 0.5 tsp freshly ground cardamom
- 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp fine salt
- 110g unsalted butter, softened
- 165g granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- Preheat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Line 2 mini muffin tins with mini muffin cases, or set out 20 mini muffin cases on a baking sheet. Lightly spray liners with nonstick spray and sprinkle the hazelnuts into the bottom of each muffin liner.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa, wheat germ, oats, spices and salt together in a medium bowl.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar in another bowl until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat together. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Scoop a tbsp of dough (about 20g) into each mini muffin case, on top of the nuts. (Alternatively, drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and top with chopped nuts.) Bake until the biscuits are cooked through and the nuts are toasty, about 15 minutes (drop biscuits will bake slightly faster). Transfer to a rack to cool.