Baked Oatmeal with Apples, Black Aronia & Quebec Hazelnuts

Taste

Baked oatmeal sits somewhere between porridge and a soft cake: oats set in a lightly sweetened custard of milk and eggs, golden on top and spoonable underneath. Here it’s built from organic oat flakes from Les Belles Récoltes de Charlevoix and amber maple syrup from Ferme St-Ours, with Russet apples, which are sharp and nutty and keep their shape in the oven. The surprise is black aronia, a small, nearly black berry from Ferme Luc Dufour. Raw, it’s so astringent that its English nickname is chokeberry, but baking with maple turns it jammy, with a dry, blackcurrant-like edge that keeps the dish from tasting too sweet. Toasted Quebec hazelnuts from Vergers Le Clan go through the oats and over the top for crunch.

Instructions

1. Toast the hazelnuts. Heat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F). Spread the chopped hazelnuts on a small baking sheet and toast them in the oven as it heats, until fragrant and lightly golden, 6–8 minutes. Set aside about a third of them for the top. ⏱︎ 8 min

2. Mix the dry ingredients. Butter a baking dish of about 2 litres, such as a 20 cm (8 inch) square. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, the rest of the hazelnuts, the baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3. Whisk the wet ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth, then whisk in the milk, the 80 ml of maple syrup, the melted butter and the vanilla.

4. Assemble. Scatter half of the diced apple and half of the aronia berries over the bottom of the dish. The berries go in straight from the freezer; there’s no need to thaw them. Spread the oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer, then slowly pour the milk mixture over it, nudging any dry oats under with a spoon. Scatter the rest of the apple and aronia over the top, then the reserved hazelnuts.

5. Bake. Bake until the top is golden and the centre is set, 40–45 minutes. Press the middle with the back of a spoon: no liquid should pool around it. ⏱︎ 45 min

6. Rest and serve. Let it stand for 10 minutes so it firms up enough to cut, then cut it into squares. Serve warm with a spoonful of yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. ⏱︎ 10 min

Tips

• Make ahead: Covered, it keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days. Warm squares in the microwave for about a minute, or in a 150 °C (300 °F) oven for 10 minutes, with a splash of milk to keep them moist.
• Assemble the night before: Put everything together in the dish, cover and refrigerate overnight, then bake straight from the fridge, adding 5–10 minutes. The oats soak up more milk, so the result is softer and more custardy.
• About aronia: If you’re new to aronia, try half aronia and half frozen wild blueberries the first time. The blueberries are sweeter and milder.
• Other apples: Cortland, Empire or Spartan apples also hold their shape. Avoid McIntosh, which collapses into sauce in the oven.
• Dairy-free: Use an unsweetened oat or soy drink instead of the milk, and a neutral oil or melted coconut oil instead of the butter.