Sweet and Fruity Oatcakes

Let the St Patrick's Day baking commence! I'm kicking off my Paddy's Day baking with these delicious Sweet and Fruity Oatcakes. They're super-easy to make and only require a few basic ingredients, so there is no excuse not to add a bit of Irish charm to your day.

Traditional Irish oatcakes are savoury, but I thought I'd make things a bit more interesting and add sugar and raisins. It worked really well and made a great weekend breakfast treat. The oatcakes don't change much in appearance from before being baked - see the image above - and after being baked - see the image below. 

The main idea behind the baking process is to dry the mixture out so it holds together better. If you're looking for a golden brown, you're not going to get one. If you've got the luck of the Irish on your side you might get a slight golden tint, but don't hold out for much more or you'll be tucking into bitter and burnt oatcakes.

This recipe makes 4 really generous and filling portions perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Ingredients

25g flour

Pinch of salt

Pinch of baking soda

110g oatmeal

25g butter

1/4 cup water

2tbsp brown sugar

2 handfulls raisins

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, sugar and raisins. 

2. Pour the water into the saucepan, add the butter and melt over a low heat. Add the butter mix into the dry ingredients and stir well.

3. Cover a surface in oatmeal and dollop the mixture on the surface. Cover the mixture with even more oatmeal and knead. 

4. Roll the mixture into a ball and flatten out with your hands. It should look something like the picture below.

5. Make slight indentations with a knife, sectioning the oatcake into quarters. Don't try and cut through it at this point - it won't work.

6. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until dried out.