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Oat-Cake

Oat-cakes, or oatmeal cakes, are very common in Scotland and the North of England. They are eaten with butter or cheese, either toasted or plain. When first made they are quite soft, but after they have been dried before the fire for a few minutes they become crisp and hard. When made in perfection they are as thin as wafers, and are certainly very good eating, though not of a very satisfying nature. They are baked on a "bakestone," which is a kind of thick frying-pan, made of iron or stone. Mix two or three table-spoonfuls of oatmeal with a pinch of salt and a little cold water. Knead it well round and round with the hands for some minutes, then spread it on a pastry-board as thin as possible, and strew meal under and over it. Move to the bakestone, and bake it on both sides over a clear fire. It is well to mix sufficient oatmeal and water for one cake at a time, as the batter soon dries. Time, two or three minutes to bake the cakes. Probable cost, 3d. per dozen.