A Pinch of Page

My neighbor recently received a family cake recipe from her aunt that she’s been wanting to try, so yesterday we got out the baking supplies and went to work.  We weren’t quite sure what to expect (the recipe had a list of ingredients but was short on instructions) so we went forth with faith that this recipe had been passed down for good reason.  And it was.

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut and Pecan Topping

We used cake flour in this recipe to keep the texture light, but I think that all purpose flour would be just fine.  Also, we were out of raisins when we made this, but if you like raisins I suggest folding them to the batter just before baking.

For the batter:

• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup shortening (we used butter flavored Crisco)
•  1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour (we used cake flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the topping:

• 6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk (we used 2%)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (we used a mix of pecans and walnuts)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the boiling water, oatmeal, and shortening together and cool.  In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in your stand mixer, mix the brown and white sugar with the eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Add the dry mixture to the sugar mixture and mix until just combined.  Fold in the oatmeal mixture until evenly combined.  Fold in the raisins at this point if you are adding them.  Lightly grease a bundt pan and pour the batter evenly into the pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Turn your oven to broil.  Mix all of the topping ingredients together until smooth.  Remove your cake from the oven when done.  Invert your cake onto a baking sheet and spread the topping evenly on top (we poked a few holes in the cake with a skewer to allow the sweet topping to melt into the cake).  Place the cake back in the oven under the broiler and bake until the topping has melted and the coconut is lightly toasted.  

This cake is certainly deserved of passing down!  The flavor was reminiscent of a spice cake, but it was very moist almost to the point of being gooey.  I loved the crunch of the nuts and the flavor of the coconut in the topping, combined with the warm cake laced with melted brown sugar.  A special thanks to Grandma Dorothy for her wonderful recipe that I had to pass along to you all.  Enjoy…