Think of these rather like the oatcakes you might have with cheese, only in pancake form; as with regular fluffy pancakes, however, it is what you eat with them that creates the magic. Here, I’ve made a honey and raspberry syrup, and the mixture of the soft, oaty cakes, the honey and the raspberries has a decidedly Scottish flavour.
Warm the honey and raspberries in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until the raspberries have thawed (if using frozen). This shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes or so. Take the pan off the heat.
Put the oats and salt in a blender or a food processor with the small bowl fitted, and process until you get the consistency of flour, a mealy flour to be sure, but it should still be fine-ground. Tip into a bowl and stir in the baking powder and cinnamon.
In a measuring jug, whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla, and then stir the wet mixture into the dry, until thoroughly combined. If the batter thickens too much, add more milk. And do not let this batter rest, as otherwise it will thicken too much.
Pour ½ a teaspoon of oil onto a smooth, non-stick griddle (or large cast-iron or heavy-based frying pan) and, with a piece of kitchen roll, smear it over the whole surface. Put the griddle on a medium heat and, when hot, add the batter, using a quarter-cup measure but only filling it two-thirds full. You should get 4 pancakes at a time, and they will need around 2 minutes a side. Generally, when cooking pancakes, you turn them over when you see bubbles coming to the uppermost side, and while that still holds true, the bubbles are rather understated here. So slip a spatula underneath a pancake after 2 minutes to see if the underside looks cooked, and then when it is, flip it, and the rest of the pancakes, over and cook for another 2 minutes. As always, do not press down on the pancakes as they cook, and do not flip them more than once. When you’ve cooked the first 4, pile them on a plate, and cover with a clean tea towel, then oil the pan again and proceed as before.
Serve immediately – the oats carry on drinking up liquid, and the pancakes will dry on standing – with the warm raspberry honey poured on top.
While you can use regular full-fat milk, I much prefer oat milk, which richly enhances their flavour, as well as making them dairy-free for those for whom that is a concern.
The lack of flour means that they are gluten-free, but because of cross-contamination where oats are made, you should look for porridge oats that say they are gluten-free on the packet, if this is crucial.
