being dense isn’t always a bad thing. being obtuse, however, is another story. ::::
My younger brother and his wife, B and L, visited late this summer, their poultry history recorded in my post for panko-crusted baked chicken. While they were here, we also discovered a sought-after apricot oatcake recipe for a friend. Knowing my foodblogging and love of oatmeal, my friend K turned me to the Stanford bookstore in search of a mimic for their hockey-puck shaped, dense, sweet apricot oatcakes. When I first went to the bookstore, which isn’t often, I sampled the wrong oatcakey thing, the square one. Since B and L were visiting from out of town, it was imperative that we bring them to the most beautiful campus ever. We strolled through the expansive mall leading us to the Stanford Memorial Church just after meandering through the Rodin statue garden, the Hoover Tower peering down at us, finally resting near the fountain outside the bookstore as Peach took a break from her bike riding. I decided that I needed to explore this oatcake business again, and sampled the correct one this time, the dense hockey-puck one my friend K reminded me to find. I immediately looked for the recipe with ingredient list in hand.
Within minutes of a Google search, I had found the exact recipe, in numerous places. L was game to make them before she and my brother headed home that day. Not only was it fun to have my sister-in-law help create, but it gave me a chance to actually get some photos with the process of forming the oatcakes. I love action shots, whether on bicycle, a kid catching a ball, or someone making some interesting food. We definitely gave the cakes the approval, as did my friend K and her family. They are perfect for a hike or in a lunchbox, or even warm on the way to the airport in a family’s carry-on bag.
Thank you K, for petitioning me to find this great recipe. And thanks to L for her baking skills and for both she and B for visiting.
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup plain, fat-free yogurt (I used low fat; if vegan, can replace with pumpkin or apple sauce, though I've not tried it)
- ½ cup crystalline fructose (or granulated sugar)
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- ¾ cup chopped dried apricots and golden raisins
- 1 egg white (or soaked flax seeds as an egg substitute if vegan)
- Coarsely grind rolled oats in a blender. Mix with the flour and baking powder.
- Chop dried fruit into small pieces.
- In a separate bowl, “cream” together yogurt, fructose, honey, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, lightly beat egg white until it gets bubbly but not stiff. Fold egg white into the wet ingredients. Add dried fruit.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. The dough gets pretty stiff and is hard to mix. You may even have to knead it with your hands.
- Form into 12 hockey-puck-shaped patties per the original recipe (I ended up with 14 using a ¼ measuring cup to form them).
- Bake at 325 degrees F for about 20 minutes on non-stick cookie sheet. Cool completely and store in refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before eating. These keep well and may be frozen.
8 COMMENTS
Ooooo! I want some!
We ate them all….
I followed this recipe exactly as written. Very disappointed that they kept falling apart and were very dry. Can’t figure it out.
I’m sorry this happened to you! These are a little crumbly but shouldn’t fall apart. The first variables I’d consider would be the bake time/temperature, measuring the flour, and yogurt. Some ovens run hotter than the dial shows. The small increase of heat may be enough to dry out the oatcakes. And no matter the oven, I’d try baking less time to avoid drying out. The centers remain moist. I also fluff the flour a bit before measuring, so the dough is not too heavy or gummy. I’ve now made these with fat yogurt and non-fat — the low fat or full-fat yogurt help give moisture in my experience. Hope that helps!
I used to get these from the local coffee shop in college and LOVED these oat cakes! I am so happy I found this recipe!
I made a few adjustments:
– used slightly less flour (~ 1 2/3 cups)
– reduced sugar to 1/4 cup (might leave it out next batch and increase honey )
– increased dried fruit to just under a cup – used apricots, orange flavored cranberries, and dried papaya
– used 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
– instead of making 12 hockey pucks, I made 24 smaller pucks and baked them at 325 for 9 minutes
I didn’t measure everything precisely and they still turned out amazing! Soft, chewy, moist, delicious and so pretty! Exactly how I remembered them. The whole family enjoyed them and I shared the recipe with my college roommates who loved it as well. Thank you for posting this =)
So glad this worked for you! I’ll have to try it.
I had been looking for a great recipe for Apricot Oat Cakes since I left CA and had them first at the Los Gatos Roasting Company and this one delivered! Great recipe – I used 1 cup fresh apricots and about 1/2 cup raisins and hoped it wouldn’t come out too moist…and it didn’t! (I had an abundance of apricots from making jam, so I used these instead) The apricots were not mushy and held up perfectly and were tart and although the cakes were firm, I like them a really firm, so I’ll leave them in the oven for a couple minutes more next time.
Thank you for the recipe!!
Great! I’m glad to hear the fresh apricots worked well.