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.
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
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