Oatmeal Cake

Well, I don't have any food porn to offer - honestly Rach, I became a tad flushed when I read your last post; and I swear that since then, my heart beats a bit faster when I reach for the egg carton.

This post comes belated, Mike and I just returned from another weekend away in Seattle, this was in part to attend his belated birthday Decemberists concert, as well as an effort to pack in some time away before baby dictates our schedule (translate: 'my' schedule). The concert was good, the sleep-ins were good, the food was good, and the unusual Seattle sunshine all made for a lovely weekend. On return to our little monkeys, the happiness continued when I found a few pieces of oatmeal cake left in the fridge.

This is a cake that can be eaten at breakfast time, or can be nibbled on with a cup of tea to get you over that mid-afternoon slump. I can't claim that this cake was a revelation to me. I have a similar Lazy Daisy recipe that I make courtesy of More With Less. However, I liked the sound of nut-coconut-oatmeal topping for this particular cake. While tasty, I don't think this new cake differed dramatically from my original recipe, though the topping was a nice variation from my usual straight coconut variation.

Oatmeal Cake
(Source: A Real American Breakfast, by Cheryl Jamison & Bill Jamison)

Cake:
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cup boiling water
11/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 baking soda
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup evaporated milk (I used regular milk with great results)
4 T butter (I used 3 T, it was all I had left, and the topping still tasted great)
1/2 cup brown sugar (1/3 for the less sweet tooth)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cups shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I skipped the walnuts and doubled the pecans)

Pour the boiling water over the oats. Set aside. Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer cream together the butter and the sugars. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Alternately beat in the flour and the oat mixture in thirds. Beat until only just combined. Spoon the batter into a prepared pan.

Bake for 32 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then run a knife around the edge and unlatch the springform rim. Transfer the cake (still on the springform base) to a baking sheet. While I followed these directions, next time I will just leave the cake in the springform and put the topping directly on.

Prepare the topping by combining the milk, the butter, and the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. I heated these ingredients together in the microwave Remove from the heat and stir in the oatmeal, nuts, and coconut.

Spoon the topping evenly over the top of the cake. Heat the broiler. Broil the cake on the baking sheet several inches below the heat source for about two minutes, until the topping darkens a shade or two and gets a bit brown and crunchy in spots. Watch it carefully so that you crisp it but don't burn it.