Oatmeal Cake

Barb Drustrup's Oatmeal Cake
Barb Drustrup is a wonderful woman whom I had the pleasure of working with for four years at Clive Elementary school.  Unfortunately, she retired at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.  I miss her cheery hellos and her observations about people and things.  Barb headed up the United Way fundraising drive and each year she made us a yummy meal to thank us for our contributions. Last year she outdid herself with her fabulous vegetable soup, spice cookies w/ pumpkin dip, and this scrumptious oatmeal cake. It's the coconut pecan frosting broiled on top that makes it so, so yummy...
I cut the sugar slightly in this recipe...since I was making it for breakfast. : ) Originally the recipe called for 1 cup each of white and brown sugar, and I reduced that to 3/4 cup of each, which ended up being plenty.  If you want to feel like you're being even healthier, you can replace some of the AP flour with whole wheat flour.  I've tried 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour, and I think 1/2 cup is probably as far as I'd like to go.  At any rate, with all that butter and sugar it'll taste good no matter what.

Oatmeal Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 C. boiling water 
  • 1 C. oatmeal 
  • 1/2 C. margarine or butter 
  • 3/4 C. brown sugar 
  • 3/4 C. white sugar 
  • 2 eggs 
  • 1 1/2 C. King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Frosting:
  • 1/2 C. butter (I think melting the butter would work best) 
  • 1/2 C. brown sugar 
  • 1/4 C. cream 
  • 1 C. nuts (chopped)
  • 1 C. coconut 
  • 1 tsp. vanilla 

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
Boil water and then add oatmeal. Remove from heat and let oatmeal sit for 20 minutes. 
Cream margarine or butter, brown sugar and white sugar; add eggs and oatmeal mixture. 
Sift remaining ingredients and mix into wet ingredients. 
Spread into a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking pan. 
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. 
Mix frosting ingredients, put on cake, and then put under the broiler until lightly browned. BE SURE TO WATCH IT!
A piece of Oatmeal Cake.  Yum-O.