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Warm or cold, this cake is lick your plate good. The taste is similar to a spice cake, but with an irresistible caramel coconut pecan topping.

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This is one of my favorite fall recipes. I love the spicy cinnamon and nutmeg in here, it’s perfect for creating a cozy feeling. This is an old-fashioned recipe that I’m certain your grandmother used to make. It’s a classic! And unique as well, the caramel-like frosting is made on your stove, spread on top of the cooked cake, and then broiled in the oven. This toasts the nuts and coconut, creating a golden-browned and delicious flavor.

Ingredients

For the Cake

Old fashioned rolled oats- these oats hold their texture and shape well, making them a good choice in baking.
Shortening- shortening is a fat that is solid at room temperature. It gives baked goods a delicious, crumbly texture.
Brown sugar- the deep caramel or toffee flavor brown sugar has will add a lot of flavor to your cake.
Sugar- combining both sugar and brown sugar balances the moisture, sweetness, and flavor, making the perfect cake!
Eggs- you only need 2 eggs for this recipe.
Flour- the best way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
Cinnamon- warm, sweet, and spicy, cinnamon is essential.
Nutmeg- warm and nutty, some people describe nutmeg as tasting like Christmas.
Baking soda- baking soda causes bubbles while baking, making things lighter and fluffier.
Salt- you always need a pinch of salt of offset the sweet!

For the Oatmeal Cake Topping

Butter- you can choose salted or unsalted.
Brown sugar- this brown sugar will aid in making a caramel-like topping.
Evaporated milk- this is fresh milk that has been heated so that about 60% of its water content has evaporated. It incorporates easily into sauces, making it ideal for this topping.
Coconut- you can find shredded coconut in the baking section of most grocery stores.
Chopped pecans- pecans are buttery, sweet, and nutty with a slightly bitter outer shell.
Vanilla extract- just a dash!

Ingredients to make Oatmeal Cake including oatmeal, flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, sugar, pecans, evaporated milk, coconut, butter, eggs, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, vanilla and shortening.

How to Make Oatmeal Cake

Step 1: In a large bowl, pour 1 cup of oats and 1 ½ cups boiling water. You can let this sit until cooled. While you are doing this, preheat your oven to 350 and either spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick baking spray, or grease and flour the pan.

Step 2: (Wet ingredients) In a stand mixer or mixing bowl with a hand mixer, blend ½ cup shortening, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 2 eggs. Keep blending until light and fluffy.

Step 3: (Dry ingredients) In a separate, medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon salt. Briefly mix.

Step 4: Add the cooled water and oat mix to the wet ingredients. Mix.

Step 5: Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Step 6: Pour batter into your prepared baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. As your cake is baking, you can make the topping.

How to Make Oatmeal Cake Frosting

Step 1: Melt ½ cup butter in a medium saucepan on medium low heat. Add 1 cup brown sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved, this will take about 5 minutes. When it has finished, remove from heat.

Step 2: Stir in ½ cup evaporated milk, 1 cup coconut, 1 cup chopped pecans, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. (You’re finished)

Step 3: Pour and spread the topping onto the warm, baked cake. Place the cake in the oven to broil for a minute or two to toast the pecans and coconut. Serve warm.

Oatmeal Cake covered with pecan caramel topping in a baking dish.

History of Oatmeal Cake

There is truly some interesting history about this modest cake! The Oatmeal Cake had it’s first editorial debut in the 1920s when the Snowdrift shortening company posted a recipe for a “Lazy Daisy Cake” in a newspaper ad. It wasn’t the glorious oatmeal cake you see before you, but a form of it- a vanilla cake with a broiled coconut and brown sugar topping. This cake grew in popularity through the 1930s and 1940s, until the 1950s when Quaker Oats made their own version of this cake, to which they added oats, making it hearty and flavorful. This is closer to the version we see today, with added spices and more flavor.