Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Oatmeal Cake



Remember when you were a little kid, and you went to elementary school for the first time? The building looked tremendously huge, the halls as wide as a football field, the teachers freakishly tall. And then, when you got older and revisited that school it looked rather small and underwhelming. I'm having similar feelings about this cake.

I found the recipe on the wonderful
Chef-in-Training blog, and was immediately transported back to my youth and my mother baking an oatmeal cake. I would watch that coconut-and-pecan-laden top bubble up and brown under the broiler, and could not wait for it to cool off enough for me to pop a small bit into my mouth. Crunchy and chewy, and warm from the oven, it was 6-year-old bliss. But times change, tastes change, buildings crumble, teachers get smaller, and cakes don't seem quite as luscious as they once did. Don't get me wrong, this is a good cake. It is moist and dense, and topped with a delicious, chewy, coconut and pecan topping that I could easily eat all by itself. In fact, the next time I make it (and I will), I may just double this topping. The recipe called for a 9x 13 pan, but I used a 10 x 10 as I always do in such cases; the cake would have been way too thin, the topping far too sparse for this to be as good as it was. But it didn't quite transport me back to my youth as I had hoped it would. Personally, I think this cake is just dynamite with a cup of coffee at breakfast. It is not exceptionally sweet, so makes the perfect breakfast treat. As for dessert after dinner, well, I'm still searching for that one. Oh, how I miss my momma!


Oatmeal Cake

CAKE
1¼ cups water
½ cup butter
1 cup quick oats
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1½ teaspoon cinnamon

TOPPING
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup sugar
¼ cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350ยบF.

Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan (or a 10x10-inch, as I did) with cooking spray and set aside.

In small saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Once boiling is reached, carefully pour mixture into a large mixing bowl; add oats and let cool for 3 minutes. Into the partially cooled mixture, beat in sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until well blended. Add flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and mix until combined. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.

While baking, make the topping. Cream butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl. Add evaporated milk, vanilla, coconut, and nuts, and mix until well combined. After cake has baked, spread topping quickly, but carefully over the top of the hot cake, spreading to the edges and into the corners. Place under a broiler for about 2-3* minutes until golden brown. Watch constantly so as not to burn.

*This took me closer to 4-5 minutes.  It really all depends upon just how close the cake is to the source of heat, so do watch it carefully, but do not underbroil.
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4 comments:

Linda said...

Awwww - on missing your momma. :( I miss mine too. I'd like to be transported back to my childhood and tell her what a great cook she was.
Gosh it sure looks good! I've seen this recipe in many of my old church and school cookbooks but surprisingly have never made it.

Slice of Pie Cookbooks and Entertaining said...

We must all be in the same boat! I will always miss my mother ... and Oatmeal Cake was a stand by for her ... She baked fabulous cream pies ... but she had three cakes that she loved to make ... oatmeal, a one-egg yellow cake and strawberry cake! Thanks for posting this ... and sharing!

Maria said...

You have the most charming blog and recipes, I just love how the blog looks and feel, so pretty! Thanks for linking up the oatmeal cake! Also thanks for linking up at my new party Dream Create and inspire! I love this party it would be great if you can add this to your party list.
Hugs
Maria

Miz Helen said...

I can almost taste a slice of this delicious cake and wish I had some right now. We always enjoy your post at Full Plate Thursday and thanks so much for sharing them with us. Hope you have a great week and come back soon!
Miz Helen