This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Soft and moist oatmeal cake with some hint of warm spices topped with brown sugar nut topping will surely brighten up your morning. It is an easy cake anyone can bake.
When I first started blogging about food, which is about 14 years ago? boy..it’s been a long time. Anyway, this old-fashioned oatmeal cake recipe was shared by a lady who used to work with my hubby. We love this cake so much. I decided to revisit this recipe, take some nicer photos, and just to polish things up a bit here. When I searched up more about this old-fashioned oatmeal cake, it seemed like the recipe was pretty much the same for everyone. I supposed it’s a pretty standard oatmeal cake recipe since great grandma time 🙂 I love old-fashioned recipe like that!
Why we like this recipe
1. Easy to make
2. Less sugar
If you have wickedly sweet tooth, you may find this cake not sweet enough. I have cut down the sugar amount in the cake and the topping from the original recipe to suit our taste. I don’t want to cut down too much because it can affect the moisture of the cake
3. The cake is moist for days
The oatmeal and butter help to keep the cake moist. Despite being moist, the cake is not dense and heavy like you would imagine. It still has that fluffiness
1. Rolled oats
I used old-fashioned oats or also known as rolled oats. I haven’t tried quick-cooking oats so I’m not sure how this affects the cake
2. Butter
You can use salted or unsalted butter and reduce the amount of salt in the cake
3. Eggs
I use large-size eggs, which weigh about 58-60 grams with the shell
4. Brown sugar
I use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar works too
5. Sugar
I use granulated sugar. You can also use caster sugar
6. Baking soda
7. All-purpose flour
Flour with medium-gluten content is suitable for this cake
8. Spices
I use ground cinnamon and nutmeg. If you don’t like them, you can omit them. I feel like they add some nice warmth to the cake
9. Unsweetened coconut flakes
Original recipe uses sweetened coconut flakes. I use unsweetened coconut flakes
10. Nuts
You can use roasted peanuts, almonds, walnuts, or any nuts of your choice
11. Whole milk
We only need a small amount of milk here. You can use non-dairy milk too if you prefer
Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cake
Ingredients
- 300 g hot boiling water
- 80 g rolled oats
- 113 g unsalted butter
Wet ingredients:
- 100 g eggs (room temperature) from 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 70 g light brown sugar see notes 1
- 70 g sugar
Dry ingredients:
- 195 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt reduce amount if you use salted butter
- ⅜ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Toppings:
- 45 g unsalted butter melted
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 35 g unsweetened coconut flakes see notes 2
- 70 g roasted unsalted peanuts finely chopped. see notes 3
- 30 g wholemilk
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Prepare an 8 x 8 metal cake pan. Lightly grease the pan on all sides and line with aluminum foil or parchment paper sling overhanging on the side. Do not use a glass pan because we will broil the topping later and glass pan can shatter under broiler
- If you plan to do 1/2 of the recipe, use 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan (like I did in this step-by-step photos) and keep the baking time the same
Prepare the cake batter:
- Combine hot water, oats and butter in a large mixing bowl. The butter will gradually melt. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes. It thickens
- Start preheating the oven to 350F (180 C) for conventional, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven
- When the mixture is not hot anymore and just warm, add brown sugar, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk until all is combined and sugar dissolves.
- Sift in the dry ingredients
- Use a spatula to fold and combine until you don't see any dry bits of flour. Don't overmix the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top.
Bake the cake:
- Bake the cake in the middle rack for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with just a few crumbs but it shouldn't be wet. The cake shouldn't be jiggly and when you gently press on the cake, it bounces back
Prepared the topping:
- While the cake is baking, prepare the topping by mixing all the ingredients for the topping
Spread topping on the cake:
- Remove the cake from the oven. While the cake is still warm, spread the topping on top of the cake evenly. The butter will melt and that's intentional
Broil the cake:
- Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler on high. Place the cake bake into the oven. Let it broil for about 2-3 minutes or until it is golden brown. Do not walk away during this process as the topping can get burn easily
Cool down:
- Let the cake cool down completely on a cooling rack. The cake is best served the next day
Store the cake:
- Let the cake cool down completely. Cover with an aluminum foil and it can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days. The cake gets nice and moist the next day
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
Marv’s Recipe Notes
- The amount of sugar in the original recipe is 100 grams for light brown sugar (1/2 cup) and 100 grams for granulated sugar (1/2 cup). The amount of sugar in the topping is 67 grams (1/3 cup).
- Original recipe uses sweetened coconut flakes
- You can use other roasted nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
Did you make this old-fashioned oatmeal cake recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made. Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
4 comments
Yum…apple and oats, that will be a great combo too!
This looks moist and delicious. I have apples I can add to it too. Yum!
looks healthy and delicious!
delicious cake looks soft