From the cookbook: Oatmeal Cake

I thought it might be fun to explore some of the recipes in the family cookbook that are less familiar to me by making them and then reporting on them.  So this week I made Oatmeal Cake submitted by Gia on behalf of Stella Morris Baker.  I was intrigued by the fact that it used prepared oatmeal as an ingredient.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda


Pour water over the oats, stir to combine and set aside.  Cream butter and sugars, then beat in eggs.  Add the cooled oatmeal.  Sift together and then add the dry ingredients.  Bake in a well greased 9x13" pan at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Broiled Topping:

6 T butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup cream or evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla

During the last few minutes that the cake is baking, melt the butter in a saucepan and dissolve the sugar in it.  Mix in the other ingredients and spread on the top of the cake when it is finished but still hot.  Broil it for 2-3 minutes until it is just golden brown.  Watch it carefully that it doesn't burn.



I made this cake twice: once following the recipe and once making changes. When prepared as written,  it is a an incredibly moist, rich cake.  Adrian describes it as at the border between cake and pudding (as in bread pudding not Jello)  The topping is very like a German chocolate cake and is very good. There was one small problem with the topping however, my 9x13 pans are not approved for the broiler as directed in the directions for the cake.  I baked it at 450 degrees for 5 minutes instead.

My variation was to add plums to the cake as I had plums that needed eating.  The plums added to the bottom of the cake turned out beautifully, whereas the plums added to the top of the cake sank to the bottom and disrupted the crumb of the cake.  The plums also added sufficient liquid that the cake took twice as long to bake.  Over all I enjoyed the addition of the plums, but I would have only included them on the bottom and would probably precook them to drive off some of the moisture.  I also would have added a streusel topping for the last few minutes of baking.