This is one of my favourite ways to showcase my maple syrup.  A simple oat cake is baked, then cut into squares and cooled.  The baking dish is then filled with hot maple syrup, which the cake soaks up like a sponge.  Essentially a lazy man’s pouding chômeur (a lazy man’s poor man’s pudding?)

Oat Cake in Maple Syrup

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

For the soaking syrup:

• 2 cups maple syrup
• 2 cups water

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour a 9″x14″ casserole.
2. Combine the oats and water.  Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
4. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl.  Slowly add to butter mixture with mixer on lowest speed.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl periodically.
5. Fold in the oats.
6. Pour the batter into the casserole.  Bake until a wooden skewer comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.  Cool.
7. Once the cake has cooled, cut into serving squares without removing from the casserole.  Heat the maple syrup mixture on the stove, then pour over the cake.  Let stand for several hours.  Gently warm in a low oven before serving.  Spoon any syrup left in the bottom of the casserole over the plated cake.  Serve with ice cream.