Maple Ricotta Oatmeal Cake

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I went for a run in the park yesterday morning and it was beautiful. I’m so excited spring has officially sprung. It’s always fun to see students ‘sunbathing’ on the Columbia campus…hard to believe in just about a month I’ll be graduating law school and leaving academia behind. Winter was so long, it makes the few weeks of spring while I’m still in school seem very short!

 

 

When I got home from my run, I was in the mood for an oatmeal cake for breakfast. I picked up a tub of ricotta cheese over the weekend to use in a polenta dish, and though I often use it in omelettes or pancakes, I’d never thought about other breakfast treats. All that changed when I went to whip up an oatmeal cake after my run yesterday morning, and instead of reaching for my usual Greek yogurt to spoon in, I went for the ricotta instead. I added some maple syrup to the mix, and this little ramekin of deliciousness became a Maple Ricotta Oatmeal Cake. It was roughly the same density as one of my other oatmeal cakes, but with a texture just a tad lighter and fluffier. I’m sure it would be great with lemon zest (which I didn’t happen to have on hand), like a lemon ricotta pancake – but with just the maple and cinnamon it was a delightfully dessert-y breakfast treat!

 

Ricotta and maple syrup and cinnamon, oh my!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats

Freshly flipped

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup part-skim or whole milk ricotta cheese*

1 egg white (substitute extra 1 Tbsp applesauce if desired)

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp brown sugar

Pinch salt

For topping: additional 1 Tbsp ricotta

For ramekin: 1 tsp butter (can substitute olive oil or cooking spray)

 

 

Instructions:

Go ahead and take a bite

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl, then add in wet ingredients and mix well.

3. Melt butter or other oil in 1-cup (8 ounce) ramekin to coat inner surface.

4. Bake at 375degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, then set oven to high broil for an additional 5 minutes.

5. Use a knife to carefully pry the edges of the cake from the ramekin (easy as long as it was greased well!) and flip upside down into a dish. Top with additional ricotta if desired. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Pasteurized milk, vinegar, and salt – that’s all

 

*I would strongly recommend using one of these and not a fat-free version of ricotta cheese. Not only is the taste off, but if you take a look at the ingredients in the part-skim version, the list is pretty good – whereas for the FF version, there are lots of additives and extra sugars that actually lower the protein content in addition to removing the fat.

 

 

 

What’s your favorite way to use ricotta cheese? 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2015 Renaissance Runner Girl. All rights reserved.

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