Oatmeal Cake
There were two cards in my mother's collection with identical recipes (except minor formatting differences). One is attributed to Linda McGill, who I believe was our next door neighbor when we lived in Dayton (5119 Sweet Leaf Drive - I still remember my address from Kindergarten). The other recipe is credited to my mom. She must have typed out some cards to give away and had one left over.
I only made a 1/2 recipe.
I used butter instead of margarine. My 4 TBSP were straight out of the fridge so I put them in the bowl in the oven while it preheated - a favorite trick of mine to soften without melting.
Half of 1 1/4 c. flour is 1/2 c. + 2 TBSP. I usually keep my flour in the original bag and just roll down the top. When measuring less than a cup I typically just dip the cup in the bag, drag it up the side with my hand applying pressure from the outside and call it measured.
Today I wanted to get it right so I overfilled the cup...
...and used the back of a knife to level it off, scraping the extra back into the bag.
I didn't feel like getting another bowl dirty to beat the egg...
...so I cracked it into the bowl with only the butter and beat the egg with the mixer.
When not specified, I always assume that brown sugar is intended to be packed. I finished up this box that has been running around my pantry for a while...
...but only got half of what I needed. So I filled the rest with Splenda brown sugar which is supposed to be a 1 to 1 substitute. I figured I'd save a little sugar and not have to open a brand new bag of regular brown for only 1/4 c. (In the end I was pleased with the sweetness and consistency - confirming that the Splenda was an acceptable substitute.)
The oatmeal was done and had sat for 20 mins. but I still had some mixing to do.
The batter got rather thick when I added the sifted ingredients.
I felt like the oatmeal should be folded in more gently than an electric mixer. It was easy to incorporate with a sturdy rubber spatula.
I used a pan that was approximately 1/2 the size of a 9x13. Normally I would use an 8x8 but it was dirty from last night's chicken dinner and I wanted to sanitize it in the dishwasher. Initially I had the 9x9 Pampered Chef out but it seemed too big - I didn't want the cake to come out too thin.
I almost forgot the back of the recipe card! Now I needed a 1/2 c. brown sugar so I went ahead and opened the regular bag. (I usually use the Splenda in my Cream of Wheat - it's not cheap so I didn't want to waste it.)
When the measuring device won't fit in the bag I measure over a bowl or plate. The run-over can be put back into the bag or, in this case, back into the cup once I packed it down and had to add more.
I didn't want to open a can of milk for 1/6 c. and I didn't have Half & Half but I did have whip cream so I used that. I don't think it made a difference at all.
I stirred the vanilla into the cream to ensure it was evenly distributed.
I poured the cream around the brown sugar...
...and stirred it up well before adding the nuts. It was looking very yummy!
I had a couple of partial bags of walnuts (one chopped bits, one bits & pieces) so I wound up using a little extra nuts just to finish off the bags.
Maybe I should put this on my Cream of Wheat!
There were no instructions but I checked the cake for doneness by inserting a pick int he middle and making sure it came out clean.
I dumped the mixture onto the middle of the cake and spread it around with the back of a spoon.
Back into the oven for broiling. Broiling makes me nervous...the first time I broiled on my 20 year old oven it burned up the control panel.
I assumed that broiling should be on the top-most rack.
Fresh out of the oven.
Husband doesn't eat nuts or weekday breakfast. Sensitivity-challenged eater tried a bite from the corner and decided he only wanted a middle piece. "Have at it," I said, knowing that otherwise I'd wind up eating the whole thing myself. This was yummy, I would have no problem eating the whole thing myself (maybe over 2 or 3 days). It would be good even without the topping. Or perhaps with a powdered sugar glaze instead. I think this makes a better breakfast than dessert - sort of like a coffee cake is a breakfast item but this is very different than coffee cake. Coffee cake is more bread-like with cinnamon and white icing. This is more cake-like. But seriously, who hasn't eaten cake for breakfast on occasion.
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