Recipe and photos by The Cook & Him
yield: 6-8 portions
“I’m a bit in love with Foodie Flavours natural essences. They’re incredibly intense with flavour so a little goes a LONG way. And because you’re just adding a few drops for full on flavour it doesn’t alter the texture of whatever you’re cooking!” – The Cook and Him
Ingredients
- 1 tblsp ground flax seeds
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 1 cup (250ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup (60mg) maple syrup
- 10 drops Foodie Flavours Almond Essence
- 20 drops Foodie Flavours Raspberry Essence
- 2 cups (220g) rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2-3 fresh apricots
- Optional: 1 tblsp coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170 Fan / 190 C / 375 F / Gas 5 and line a 7 x 9 inch baking tray with parchment, covering the base and sides.
- Mix the ground flax seeds with 3 tblsp water, stir well and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Peel the bananas and break into chunks into a large bowl. Mash well with a fork until fairly smooth and no large lumps of banana remain.
- Add the almond milk, maple syrup and both the essences and and whisk in with the fork.
- Using a rubber spatula or large spoon stir in the oats and baking powder until everything is well combined.
- Pour into your prepared tin.
- Cut the apricots in half and remove the stone. Cut each apricot half into 3-4 slices then lay the slices across the top of the oats, pushing down to slightly submerge.
- Optional: sprinkle the coconut sugar over the top of the apricots and oats. This is an optional step as it doesn’t add much extra sweetness, just gives a lovely caramelisation to the top of the baked oats.
- Bake the oats for 40 minutes until firm and golden.
- Eat immediately or leave to cool before slicing into portions and storing in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Putting the cooled baked oats in the fridge to chill completely before slicing makes cutting them up much neater (if neatness is your thing!)
- We don’t have a microwave so I don’t know if these are any good to warm up. Would love to know if anyone tries!