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Dessert

Scotch Oatmeal Cake

A simple cake made from oatmeal, butter or lard, baking soda, and hot water, rolled thin and fried on a griddle.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Scotch Oatmeal Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the dough

  1. Combine oatmeal in a bowl and set aside.

  2. In a teacup, mix butter or lard with baking soda and hot water until melted.

  3. Quickly mix the liquid into the oatmeal with a knife until well combined.

  4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until compact, keeping it round and flat.

  5. Roll the dough out thinly with a rolling pin, ensuring it remains round.

Cook the cakes

  1. Preheat a griddle over medium heat.

  2. Cut the rolled dough into three parts and place them on the griddle, plain side down.

  3. Move the cakes to a hotter spot on the griddle as they cook, avoiding scorching.

  4. Check for doneness by pressing the surface; they should not be doughy.

  5. While the first batch cooks, prepare another half pound of oatmeal in the same manner.

Dry and cool

  1. Remove from the griddle and place on a toaster to dry gradually, avoiding burning.

  2. Once dried, stand the cakes on their edge until completely cool to maintain crispness.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Oatmeal
Forms the body of the cake, and its starch sets and crisps as it cooks.
Butter or lard
Adds fat for richness and tenderness in the dough.
Baking soda
Raises the dough slightly and promotes browning on the griddle.
Hot water
Melts the fat and hydrates the oatmeal so the dough holds together.

The step that matters

Drying the cakes gradually on a toaster. Drying slowly removes moisture from the centre without burning the surface, which is what gives the cakes their crispness. Scorching on high heat leaves the outside dark while the inside stays doughy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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