You can’t get more classic as a breakfast food than porridge! But…what is it? Oatmeal? Something different? Technically, the word “porridge” describes any hot cereal made from whole grains…but the most classic version does indeed use oats: whole oat groats!
If you’re familiar with steel-cut oats, they’re the closest to groats, just already processed. But if you’re looking for a true WHOLE grain experience, grab a bag of groats, and then either soak or slow-cook them overnight. I’ve personally found the slow-cooker version to be preferable, but if you don’t like the chew of the whole grains, processing them in a blender or food processor after an overnight soak will yield a texture more like traditional steel-cut oatmeal.
This creates a great base…that you can then dress up as desired! We’ve done peanut butter and banana…strawberries and cream…brown sugar cinnamon…even maple and bacon. All were equally delicious. If you’re a one-flavor type of person, you can mix the whole batch into that flavor. Since my family likes variety, I just make the base recipe and then we fix our individual bowls to our tastes.
Ingredients
Instructions
1 cup oat groats
4 ¼ cups water
Pinch of salt
Flavorings to taste
Combine oat groats and water in a slow cooker the night before. Add a pinch of salt. .
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. .
Add cinnamon, maple syrup, brown sugar or alternative, fresh fruit, jam, cream, or any other toppings and stir-ins you desire! (Pictured with strawberry jam and fresh-cut strawberries, which pairs perfectly with a tablespoon of heavy cream.) .
Store leftovers in the fridge.
Alternate Instructions
The night before, cover oat groats with 1-2 inches of water in a large bowl. Let soak overnight. .
In the morning, drain the groats, then combine them in a food processor blender with 2 cups of fresh water. Pulse for about 30 seconds or until the groats have broken up and resemble steel-cut oats. .
Add mixture to a pot, add an addition 2 cups of water, and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the oats reach you desire tenderness. Top or stir in your choice of flavorings, as above.
Porridge would be enjoyed by all my English characters, and it gets a special shout-out in A Beautiful Disguise when (gasp!) the lord and lady make their own breakfast.
When you write about Edwardian England as much as I do, you come across a lot of recipes for tea treats. Interestingly, it was for one of my Guideposts mystery novels that I discovered Victoria Cake and fell in love with the simplicity and scrumptious flavors. If there’s anything better than vanilla and berries and whipped cream, I haven’t found it.
Best of all, you can use ANY jam and fresh berries to make this cake! Strawberry is a classic, but raspberries or blackberries or blueberries would all work just as well. Get creative and try it with orange marmalade, lemon curd, or turn it into a vanilla black forest cake with cherry pie filling. The possibilities are endless! (And delicious.)
Ingredients
Instructions
INGREDIENTS
2 ½ sticks butter at room temperature
1 ¼ cups superfine sugar
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
raspberry or strawberry jam for filling
heavy whipping cream for filling
confectioner’s sugar for the top of the cake
fresh berries for garnish, if desired
INSTRUCTIONS
TO MAKE THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottoms of two 8” round pans with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pans and set aside. .
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. .
Add about one third of the beaten eggs, and mix well at medium speed. Then add about a third of the sifted flour. Repeat this step. Add the rest of the eggs and mix well, then turn the mixer to low and add the final flour and mix until just combined. .
Using a scale, divide the mixture evenly between the two pans and bake for about 35 minutes. .
Once you can smell the cake and it looks done through the oven door, open the oven and carefully check with a toothpick inserted in the middle (cake falls easily, so only test when you’re confident it’s close!). When the cake is done, remove them from the oven and allow to cool completely. .
To remove: place a cooling rack over the top of the cake and flip it over quickly. Remove the tin and the parchment paper and allow to cool completely before filling.
ASSEMBLY:
Beat the cream until it’s thick enough to fill the cake and support the next layer. .
Using a cake slicer, place the cake layers, flat side down on the counter and slice off the top to make them even. (Save or freeze the leftover cake to trifles or cake pops!) .
Place one layer, cut side up, on a serving plate and spread a generous amount of the jam on top. .
Next, spread the cream over the jam. Leave about an inch between the cream and the edge, as it will squish out. Top with the second layer, cut side down. .
Dust with confectioner’s sugar and chill for an hour or two. Top with fresh berries, if desired.
Victoria Cake is served in A Royal Tea, and this same recipe is included in the back of the book. Gemma is also enjoying a slice in A Noble Scheme, book 2 in the Imposters series. And you can bet that Mrs. Dawe served it aplenty at tea time in the Secrets of the Isles books!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.