Baked Gingerbread Porridge
I told you I was on a ginger bender, didn’t I? Well here I have for you a little morning dish of warmth and comfort. It’s baked gingerbread porridge. And it’s completely welcome in my life right now.
The grated apple or pear topping in this recipe is mandatory. Mandatory. Trust me. What became an afterthought of grating a little apple for some sweetness and fibre turned out to entirely make the dish. I may even prefer grated pear on top... I recommend you just go with your mood and fruit bowl situation. Oh, and the mascarpone, it mellows things, balancing the ginger zing nicely. I’ve made this dish with and without the somewhat indulgent mascarpone scoop and I dearly favour its presence.
Oh, and do you want to know what makes this porridge extra special?...
The generous use of spice we have here ignites something completely fabulous in me. It’s called productivity. Have they done studies on spice and productivity? Surely they should. I feel that ginger, in particular, is a solid firecracker, encouraging task completion and generally just getting things done. It’s a ‘ticking off lists’ kind of food. Blackstrap molasses, in its nutritious glory, is helping move things along too. Try this dish and see for yourself. If enough of us participate in this breakfast study, I feel quite confident we could publish the results.
Peer reviewed porridge, now there’s a journal article I’m truly interested in.
Baked Gingerbread Porridge
Serves 1
1/3 cup Rolled Oats
1 tablespoon Ground Flaxmeal
1 heaped tablespoon Flaked Almonds
A pinch of Salt
A pinch of Ground Cloves
A pinch of freshly grated Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger (or a touch less, if you do not enjoy such a ginger bite)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated Ginger
1/2 cup Milk
1 tablespoon Mascarpone
1 tablespoon Blackstrap Molasses
Butter, to grease the pan
Toppings
1 small apple or pear, grated
Greek or natural yoghurt
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, Convection setting.
2. Grease a 14cmx10cmx5cm oval ramekin with butter. Feel free to use a different baking dish but ensure your filling is around 3cm high in the dish and watch the cooking time if it’s significantly different.
3. Add all the porridge ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir to combine (use a whisk to evenly distribute the mascarpone as required). Pour into the baking dish and smooth the surface.
4. Bake in the oven for ~30 minutes until done. You want your porridge to be cooked yet moist, and certainly not dry.
5. Serve in the ramekin with grated apple or pear on top. A spoon of yoghurt is a lovely addition also.
6. Go and get things done.
