Almond & Brandy Christmas Porridge/Oatmeal - Bakemas Day 17

If there’s ever a time to sneak a little brandy in your breakfast it’s definitely Christmas.
Full disclosure: I'm not saying you should do this everyday, I do not promote breakfast drinking...I just promote Christmas...and eating...and recipes...and maybe they contain brandy...occasionally...when the season calls for it.

I make way too many flavours of porridge; I mean I guess that’s not really a bad thing, if you have porridge every day for breakfast you’d never get bored. Anyway, this recipe just tastes like Christmas in a bowl, the porridge has sliced almonds with a drop of extract to add to the flavour and it’s covered in brandy soaked fruit which is sweet and tart in the best way possible, the cranberries are important for that bit. If you’re feeling like going all in you could even add some brandy cream to add even more Christmas to your breakfast, I have a recipe for vegan brandy cream and normal brandy cream but you don’t need it.

Do you need to justify the brandy just a little? I mean it is Sunday and it is Christmas so if you’re having a lazy day a little brandy in your porridge isn’t going to hurt; it’s also only ½ a tablespoon so don’t expect to be walking away from breakfast with a buzz. You could also just eat it for lunch or dinner instead. Anyway, I have a Christmas cake to decorate and maybe a few Christmas trees to stare at, you know your average Sunday activities.

Happy porridging, eat responsibly!

You will need
1 tbsp sultanas
¾ tbsp currents
½ tbsp dried pineapple/apricot, cut into pieces
½ tbsp dried cranberries
½ tbsp brandy
1 tsp coconut oil
40g/½ cup jumbo porridge oats
1 tbsp sliced almonds
100ml/a little less than ½ cup water
2 tbsp milk, I used almond
½-1 tsp honey/agave syrup
A drop of almond extract

Mix all the dried fruit together in a bowl with the brandy and set aside to soak.
Place the coconut oil in a small frying pan on a low heat and melt. Add the oats and sliced almonds to the pan and mix to coat in the oil, stir frequently until fragrant and the oats begin to harden slightly.
When the oats are almost finished toasting, place the water and milk in a saucepan with the honey and bring the mixture to the boil. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the almond extract and the toasted oat mixture then cover and leave for 10-15 minutes to let the oats absorb the liquid. Once the oats have rested and all the liquid has been absorbed spoon the porridge into a bowl and top with the brandy soaked fruit and a few sliced almonds.

Serves 1