America is a genius at making (and marketing) hot cereals. I look back fondly at the many bowls of warmed and sweetened processed grains that were instrumental in making the above-average-weight body I have today. Of course, hot cereal can be made, labor intensively, by boiling grains on the stovetop, but the real innovations on the cereal scene came in the latter half of the 20th century with the introduction of instant cereals. Now I can have a delicious, rib-sticking bowl of chocolate malted wheat or trendy gluten-free cream of rice in a mere two minutes. Will wonders never cease?
Here are three tasty ways to eat these breakfast treats without a bowl.
Orange Maple Bourbon Malted Wheat Cake
This ever-so-slightly boozy cake is inspired by a recipe from www.food.com that uses brandy, but I didn’t have brandy, so it became a bourbon cake which, in my opinion, is a step up. It’s like a cake-y Old Fashioned cocktail, especially if you serve it with an orange twist and a cherry. And an Old Fashioned.
The recipe is modeled after a Turkish revani, a dense cake soaked in flavored syrup. It doesn’t puff up in the oven, but don’t worry. Think of it as a sweet carbohydrate sponge specially engineered to receive the orange-bourbon syrup.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use a hand mixer to blend 3 eggs with 1/2 cup sugar until light and frothy, about 4 minutes. Mix in 5 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled butter, a tablespoon of bourbon and a tablespoon of orange zest.
In a separate bowl, mix another 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda with 1 1/2 cups maple and brown sugar flavor malted wheat cereal, plus 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. Fold into egg-sugar-butter mixture.
Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Make the syrup by boiling 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup sugar for 5 minutes. Allow to cool then add a tablespoon of bourbon and pour evenly over the cake.
Farina Griddlecakes
Cream of Wheat is actually a brand of farina, which is made from wheat middlings, or the parts of the grain that are processed out of white flour. So when you add farina to pancakes, it’s like returning some of the nutrients to your white flour, thus allowing you to feel properly righteous as you drench these golden circles in butter and syrup.
This recipe from www.themerchantbaker.com uses instant or quick-cooking farina. A secret: I’m terrible at pancakes. I’ve never made a good pancake until I tried this recipe, which makes a thick but fluffy pancake with a slightly coarse texture. They’re what you’d call “hearty.”
Preheat your griddle to 340 degrees. If you don’t have a griddle, use a non-stick pan or borrow my antique cast iron skillet, which I like to think imparts my food with microscopic flavor particles of my great-grandmother’s cooking. I cooked these griddlecakes on medium-high heat and burnt the first one, but then I got the hang of it. (Yep, I ate it anyway.)
Whisk together 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour with 1/3 cup instant farina, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 egg, 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1 1/2 cups buttermilk. (If you don’t have buttermilk, use 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice in place of 2 tablespoons of the milk; let stand for five minutes. If that’s too exhausting, just use milk! Everything will be fine!)
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and blend until not too lumpy. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the hot griddle or skillet. The batter is a bit thick, so you might need to spread it around a bit. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes each side; wait until bubbles form all over the top before flipping. Don’t flip multiple times or your pancakes will be even tougher than mine and you’ll have to eat them with a hacksaw. Serve with too much butter and syrup and a mug of black coffee. Pretend you’re a lumberjack who just happens to have a box of instant farina in your remote cabin. Dream of large trees.
Cherry Lemon Muffins
This recipe, slightly modified from www.onionringsandthings.com, is absolutely delicious because it uses four of my favorite things: lemons, fresh cherries, cream of rice and muffins.
Grease 12 muffin cups or line with cupcake liners and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup uncooked cream of rice cereal and 4 teaspoons baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, melted, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon lemon zest.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients and blend with a spatula until just moistened. Gently stir in 1 cup of chopped fresh cherries, then let the batter stand for 5 minutes.
Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full and then bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are lightly golden. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then serve warm with butter and jam, maybe some scrambled eggs and a strong desire to avoid folding the laundry that’s been waiting in the dryer for the last week and a half. No one really needs underwear.
