Plum & Vanilla Upside Down Baked Oatmeal

Today my son, Oscar, became a 'big kid'. He's 3 and a half, (yes the half makes all the difference) and today he attended his first day of kindergarten. I say "day" but really it was only an hour of orientation, but a long hour let me tell you! He came home exuberant and wanting to go back, I was so proud. I'm a little ashamed to say that I was also, selfishly, saddened. I'd wanted him to kick up a fuss, to not want to leave my side but instead he was confident and curious and strong, everything I wanted him to be. It was a bittersweet day, which I feel are often some of the best. Sometimes we need a little tinge of melancholy to really highlight the goodness we have in our lives.

I often make baked oatmeal for my family, Oscar lovingly refers to it as "breakfast cake" so I thought today in honour of his big-kid-ness I'd make it for his breakfast but this time I made it a little bit more 'cake'y by doing an upside down plum version. I chose to make individual portions using ramekins (because who doesn't like the idea of having a whole 'cake' to yourself!) but you could easily cook it in one large dish if you'd prefer.

Plums, brown sugar and vanilla flavour this comforting and filling breakfast option. These are very easy to make and use only very basic ingredients. They can be prepared the night before and only need 30 minutes to bake in the morning.

Plum & Vanilla Upside Down Baked Oatmeal

An original recipe by A Rhubarb Rhapsody

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 30 Minutes

Yield: 2 individual servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 ripe plums
• extra butter for greasing

Cooking Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.

2. Lightly grease two 1 cup capacity ramekins. Line the bottoms of the ramekins with grease proof paper. 

3. Dot the grease proof paper of each ramekin with 1/2 tablespoon each of butter (I cut each 1/2 tablespoon into about 4 pieces). Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the butter. Make sure it's evenly covered.

4. Quarter and then finely slice the plums, layer over the butter and sugar mix, ensuring the mix is completely covered. Set aside.

5. Get out two medium mixing bowls. In one bowl mix the rolled oats together with the caster sugar. In the other bowl whisk the milk, seeds of the vanilla bean, egg and vanilla extract.

6. Add the milk mixture to the oat mixture and stir well. Scoop the oat and milk mixture into the ramekins until they are evenly filled.

7. Cover each ramekin with tin foil and place on a baking tray. Bake at 350F/175C for 30 minutes or until firm to the touch. Once removed from the oven let them cool for 5 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the ramekin to loosen them up. Then, carefully invert them onto a plate/bowl and serve.

Can be prepared ahead (up until the point of baking) the night before.