Oatmeal Cake

Spiced with freshly grated nutmeg and warm notes of cinnamon, this is a cake layered with comfort. Full of rolled oats, toasted pecans, sweetened coconut, and plump golden raisins it has a delightful resemblance to one of our favorite cookies. Cover it with a warm, creamy frosting – adding a touch more coconut and crunchy pecans – and this Southern classic will leave you yearning for one more bite.

This is an old recipe found in many regional Southern cookbooks. It transforms a familiar breakfast grain into a delectable dessert. And though the original recipe is quite nice, adding an ingredient or two found in our oatmeal cookie recipe made this cake really quite wonderful. The foundation of this cake starts with those hearty, nutty rolled oats. Spices of cinnamon and nutmeg play off the toasted pecans, golden raisins, and flakes of coconut. Richness comes from butter and eggs, then it’s sweetened with a blend granulated and brown sugars. And boost the volume with a splash of pure vanilla extract.

Finish with a frosting loaded with more coconut and crunchy pecans.

Easy and unassuming, it’s one you’ll want to add to your files. And since this cake is chock-full of oatmeal, can we have a piece for breakfast? No judgement here!

Oatmeal Cake

For the cake:

1 cup thick rolled oats

½ cup butter, cut into pieces

1-½ cups boiling water

1-½ cups flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup golden raisins

½ cup sweetened, flaked coconut

½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

For the frosting:

½ cup butter

¼ cup half and half

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup toasted, chopped pecans

1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Mix the rolled oats with the butter and hot water in a large heatproof container. Set aside for about 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, kosher salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a large mixing bowl, blend the sugars together with the eggs and the vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes until very light in color. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for another 30 seconds.

Scoop the flour mixture into the sugar and eggs, adding about ⅓ of it at a time, beating in on low speed just until combined.

Stir the oatmeal, water, and butter into the batter blending in using low speed, about 1 minute.

Add the raisins, coconut, and pecans mixing in on low speed. The batter will be somewhat thinner than other cake batters.

Pour the batter into a 13” x 9” baking dish that has been generously sprayed with a cooking spray or greased and floured. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool the cake on a wire rack while you make the frosting.

For the frosting:

Combine the butter, half and half, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Raise the heat to medium and bring the frosting to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla, pecans, and coconut.

Beat the frosting on medium speed until it thickens, about 2 minutes.

Spread the warm frosting over the cake. Serves 10.