This is an old-fashioned cake but it doesn’t mean it won’t go well with the modern day family! Oh no, not at all. When you make this cake you need to hide it until it’s time for serving it, otherwise you’ll soon notice there’s only an empty pan left!
Ingredients:
5.25 ounces (1 cup) Oats
¾ cup whole milk
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus additional for greasing the pan
4 ounces (½ cup packed) brown sugar, preferably dark brown
3.5 ounces (½ cup) granulated sugar
7 ounces (about 1½ cups) of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- for the frosting:
2.5 ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 ounces (¼ cup packed) brown sugar, preferably light brown
2 ounces (generous ¼ cup) granulated sugar
¼ cup heavy cream
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3.5 ounces (about 1 cup) sweetened flaked coconut
2 ounces (about ½ cup) chopped pecans
Instructions:
Place the oats in a medium bowl and add cold tap water to cover by about 3 inches. Swirl lightly, then allow the oats to settle. Tilt the bowl, then skim off and discard the hulls that rise to the surface with a fine tea strainer. Pour off all the water from the oats, leaving the oats in the bowl.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan over high heat until it frankly boils. Pour the boiling milk over the drained oats, and cover. Allow the oats to rest for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square metal cake pan. Sprinkle flour generously on the inside of the buttered cake pan, tilt to coat the bottom and sides, and then knock out the excess flour. (If you’re going to serve the cake outside of the pan, do the following: Line it with a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil cut or folded precisely to fit neatly into the bottom and up two opposite sides of the pan with an ample gripable overhang on either side. Butter the foil lightly.) Set the pan aside.
Beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add the sugars, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and aerated, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Meanwhile, turn the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Crack the eggs into a glass measuring cup, add the vanilla, and beat lightly with a fork until combined.
With the mixer running on low speed, add the beaten eggs about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating between additions, and scraping down the bowl two or three times. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 15 seconds to increase gluten development. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer running on low speed, add the oats and any unabsorbed liquid, and beat until just combined. Detach the bowl and fold the batter lightly with the rubber spatula. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake approximately 35 to 4o minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Make the frosting: While the cake is cooling, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Add the sugars and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugars have dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream and salt, boil until the mixture is thickened and frothy, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut, pecans, and vanilla and set aside until ready to use.
Frost and finish the cake: After removing the cake from the oven, position the oven rack about 6 inches below the heating element and preheat the broiler. With a toothpick or wooden skewer, poke ½-inch-deep holes evenly into the top of the still-warm cake. Spread the frosting over the cake, coaxing it to the sides and corners. Broil until the topping is brown and bubbly, 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the intensity of your broiler. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
To unmold the cake, run a metal spatula along the sides of the cake that touch the pan directly. Gripping the foil overhang on both sides, carefully lift out the cake and transfer it to a cutting board or serving plate. Press a long metal spatula flush against a side of the cake with a foil overhang and gently pull out the foil from under the cake.
Quick Tip: Serve warm cake with cool vanilla bean ice cream for a tasty combination!
Thanks to Anson Mills for this delicious old-fashioned oatmeal cake
