Emergency Breakfast-cake (savoury or sweet)

Oh no, there's no milk left for my cereal!  No problem  - begin emergency breakfast cake procedures.

I have been developing this super simple, versatile little beast for many years now (well, since I left home and started tinkering with food stuffs in a way that was 'misunderstood' at my parents abode).  The main ingredient of the breakfast cake (BC) in this particular example is muesli, but I have had good success with a number of other cereals. 

Primarily I use the BC at times when I feel like cereal but have no milk, but I have also enjoyed it on many different occasion.  The first time I made it for my partner she was very sceptical, but she soon came round, once she had seen the benefits.  Namely, the BC is a food on the edge; skating between savoury and sweet - it and could go either way, depending on your choices of accompaniments.  To make the 'base model' is very simple and quick, and does not require many ingredients.

Step 1: What you need

The beauty of the BC is that you can make it as elaborate, or as simple as you like.  It is an ideal platform for food experimentation.  At base it is cereal, water and an egg (though it is possible to make it with no eggs and a touch of flour instead).  For super quick ones, just make the 'base model' - it is nice on its own, or spread on your favourite jam/spread thing.  

Equipment:

• Frying pan (any size will work)
• Bowl or jug to mix it
• Fork, spoon, or other, for mixing
• Cooker.

Base ingredients:

• Muesli
• 1 Egg
• Water

Extra ingredients used in this instalment of emergency breakfast-cake:

• Another egg (2 in total - now that's luxury)
• A sprinkle of herbs de provence
• A few slices of cheddar cheese
• Several cloves of garlic.
• A selection of condiments

Extra ingredients I have used in the past with good results:

• Sliced tomato, fresh basil and mozzarella;
• Broccoli and mushroom;
• Peanut butter, tomato and spinach;

• For a sweet one mixing in chopped apple, banana or other fruit works well;
• Crushed cashew nuts and cinnamon;
• Milk - for a delightful creamy breakfast cake;
• dessicated coconut flakes, ground almonds and fresh ginger pieces;

You get the idea. Almost anything goes here. Experiment away.

Comments

[suayres]

Back to the comment about eggshell in your food: well, basically they're mostly calcium carbonate, which is quite digestible--check the ingredient list for Tums! But biting into a piece of eggshell gives me the cold grues! So, if you WANT to consume them, process in a mortar & pestle first.

[lasleyjam]

Have to admit it does look good.

[gingerman32]

A great tool for cooking the top of egg dishes, and others, is a heat gun. this is available in hardware stores to do things like peeling paint and melting stuff. Buy the highest wattage you can find.
Heat guns cook really fast, but you can control the speed by moving it closer or farther away from the food. It's not a torch, but electric. No flame.
Heat guns make good roasters for nuts and coffee and such as well.
And you can use it to peel paint.

[vincent7520]

You maybe right about the egg shells but you should remember they have a high calcium content ! …
:)

[bongodrummer]

Really? But they are so sharp. Maybe if they were somehow pulverized, which a mechanical device, say a food blender, they would make a good supplement.

Breaking them down like that might help, but can they actual be digested though?

[vincent7520]

Well… I hope you guessed I was trying to joke…
Actually I really do not know if calcium is directly digestible.

When I was a kid my grand parents used to tell me that having a pulverized bit of egg shell or fishbone in one's food was good for health but I don't know if it was only hearsay or that they, or people they knew, did actually do it.
But I'm sure my grandmother never gave it to us in what ever shape ! …

However, in the village I was living in, I always saw the farming ladies drop egg shells in their respective chicken coops and the hen would regularly pick them as they do with peebles. Maybe that's where my grandparents' idea came from… but of course chicken have a different digestive system than ours !!!…

[bongodrummer]

Haha. yeah, I assumed a jape was afoot. But still, I don't like to discount things out of hand. There is a bunch of 'new' things that I have found to eat recently, which I have been brought up to avoid - green carrot tops, for example.

I too have heard of ground fish bone being used as a supplement. Being a veggie that obviously doesn't appeal, but interesting idea.

[vincent7520]

You mean you don't even eat fish ???…

Fish is so goooooood !!…

(and nice to catch !…)

[vincent7520]

You have such a beautiful sense of emergency !…

[chrisbaker]

I'm too lazy to mix up real muesli, but apparently Kelloggs makes a cereal that approximates the same thing:  Mueslix ("Muslix" in Canada, interestingly).  Anyone ever tried that in this recipe?  The US version contains raisins, dates, and almonds.

[shoppe]

Bulk Barn.

[chirp-o-tron]

I made one of these and it turned out great! To cook both sides, though, I flipped the cake over once one side looked done. This seemed to work pretty well. I used oats and honey granola with 2 eggs, and some dried pomegranate seeds in the cake (as well as some pomegranate seeds I tried to rehydrate on the top) Thanks for the recipe!

[Totysheep]

It's just like pancakes! I had a little leftover milk instead of water and made it with honey loops (dutch version of cheerios) and ate it with syrup!!!

[franktherobot]

trying it wit corn flakes, almonds, bananas, and cinnamon. Even in preparation, the combination of ingredients seemed delicious. Thank you bongodrummer

[P1h3r1e3d13]

 Your “escapee” in step two is, properly, a “foodgitive.”

[Wanders away, chortling]

[heavensshadow]

*rimshot*   I totally chuckled and said it out loud. ;D

[Ninzerbean]

 Will you come over and make this for me - I promise to be skeptical...

[bongodrummer]

lol... I don't know what to say.. From Wales, that might be the bit far for an emergency.... 

[heavensshadow]

Wales?!   Ooh, that's where I first tried muesli! I miss it so, nothing here in the midwest really compares to the stuff I had overseas....send me some!  :D    Your recipe sounds ace, albeit bizarre. I may just have to try it.

[bored_teen]

 *GASP* This truly delectable instructable taught me one VERY important thing.

always butter your pan...

[Persipina]

 Great instructable!

I made mine with raisin bran crunch, eggs, milk, and water. Seasoned it with salt and pepper. It turned out pretty good. Next time I will probably be a little more creative. I would have taken a picture, but it was gone before I had a chance.

Thanks again.

[Azayles]

I made mine :D Was strange yet delicious! VERY filling, ate only half of it :-(
I used milk instead of water, and put butter in also.
To season I used a pinch of garlic salt, a pinch of curry powder, a little sage and some ground black pepper. Horseradish mustard and Reggae reggae sauce in the condiment gully.

[jlms]

Sorry that sounds awful.

I know, personal taste, etc, but eeew....

What would be wrong with normal pancakes? (just use half wholemeal hafl normal flour to make it healtier).

Muesli was not meant to be eaten like this....

[Azayles]

It sounds bizarre I know, but that's part of what''s great with food :D Sometimes you find ingredients that sound odd or positively vile together, but end up really working well.
Cooking and enjoying food is all about thinking outside the box, about bending the rules a bit just to find out what works. This is how great recipes are started! :D

I'm off to make one of these cakes right now, it's been a while coming, but I'm passionate enough about trying new things to give this a go.

[chefjason]

sounds interesting.  you should check out chef ferran adria's tortilla recipe that uses potato chips!

[doodadica]

Thanks for the recipe.  Tried it out this morning.  Didn't have Muesli, but had a box of "Ezekiel" Cereal (very similar to Grape Nuts cereal) which worked pretty well (though I would like to try it with more varied ingredients. I just used what was available: 2 eggs, cereal, a touch of milk, garlic powder, some cheese on top).  I ate a couple of slices and my four year old ate most of his slice (he never eats much breakfast though).  He liked it, and dubbed it Breakfast Pie because some of the eggs seeped out of the main bulk and formed what looked much like a pie crust around the edges.  I took a picture, but am not sure how to send it to you via instructables.  If you want to enlighten me about that, I'd be happy to send it. 
Thanks again!  I'm sure I'll be experimenting more with this one.

[bongodrummer]

Hi doodadica,
Great to hear you gave it a try.. I must say, I have never had good luck using garlic powder in anything with egg... Not sure why, I just don't like the taste combo - very different from fresh garlic.  But if it worked for you, that' all good!

For the photo, I can think of a few ways, you could upload it to flickr and PM me the address or alternatively e-mail it to me (I have PMd you my address).  
Cheers, Bongo. 

[WanderingOak]

Here in America, we can't get Museli without fruit added to it, so it won't work for savory. Granola has the same problem, because I can't find any that isn't way too sweet like 'chocolate frosted sugar bombs'. I just tried some with the only health food store granola that I could find that didn't have fruit added, and it was still way too sweet. It didn't work at all with garlic and brussel-sprouts (my garden just thawed out, and I discovered that my sprouts overwintered and kept producing). The alternating vanilla sickly-sweet and savory just doesn't seem to work. I might try this with leftover plain oatmeal (porridge) some day, but it won't work with commercial cereals. Everything that I can find is made for small children, it seems. Grape-nuts may work, but again, I think it will be too sweet.

[Azayles]

Could this be made with plain rolled oats? I have a box full in the cupboard that look like they may work in this recipe :D

[bongodrummer]

Of course, yes! I have made it thus ways in the past... Different but very good...

[Azayles]

Ooh excellent then! I have all the ingredients already, I'll probably give it a go tomorrow :P Sounds unusual enough to try :D

[bongodrummer]

Cool. Take a picture for step 7, and let me know how it goes ;)

[Azayles]

Indeed! :D

[suggsugg]

This looks so good. Have you tried any meat in with the bc?

[bongodrummer]

Hay suggsugg.  No.  Animals are my friends...

[oompa]

Excellent idea!  I think I could get my kids to eat muesli this way!  The breakfast of champions here in Italy is a sugary croissant (said with a nasal tone like da Frensh peepol) and a cappucino.  Too much sugar for me, but at least they have muesli.  I imagine that the garlic gives it a good kick not being completely cooked maybe?  I have had raw garlic in a juicer (as one of several ingredients) and you need only one clove - potent stuff.  I am going to make this tomorrow morning.  Yum yum!!

[mdeblasi1]

Oompa
I'm still not convinced, but for Itallia's sake, how about Farro Pie.
Marya

[SWV1787]

I have never heard of muesli... what exactly is is and where might one find it? (eg. cereal isle, grains, produce...) That and what does it taste like?

[E-squared]

 Here in Switzerland, where Birchermüsli originates from, we tend to eat it as a light dinner, not as a breakfast. However, as it spread, it became known as muesli, a breakfast cereal. It goes very well with yoghurt, various fruit (apples and bananas especially) and raisins. As chouf said, it tastes very good, and is very healthy. As with all cereal, it can be a bit dry on its own, but in a cake it should be scrumptious.

[mdeblasi1]

I can't imagine musli to be delicious,  I've just gotten to the point that I was capable of trying steal cut oats, the prospect of oatmeal so disgusts me.
Which is not to say that I am criticizing a perfectly good instructable, it's just that it tastes like anything but glop

If someone wants to enlighten me please do, Otherwise, In the meantime, I think your recipe would be just fine with Pollenta.
Marya