Oatmeal Spice Cake

Last week was Matthew's birthday. When asked what his favorites were he said:

Favorite baked goods:
1.    Cookies, most any kind, favorite being oatmeal raisin
2.    Fresh baked bread
3.    Probably go with donuts, but pie and cake worthy options

I waited until the last minute to make his birthday treat and knew I wouldn't have time to make the cookies, so I knew I would be making a cake of some sort. I found this recipe and thought it sounded good so I went for it. I'm always a little nervous when I try something new. I really need to stop that. It got rave reviews at work!

Ratings:

Mom - B
This cake was moist and delicious! The recipe had some extra prep time, all the boiling water, it was totally worth it. I think a different frosting or topping would get this up to an A. Something with coconut and nuts? I'll work on it.

No reviews from the boys this time, they didn't get a chance to taste them.

And here is the recipe...

Oatmeal Spice Cake 


Ingredients

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (I used quick oats and it turned out just fine)
1 cup raisins (regular, golden or any combination of the two)
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar (Brown, white or a combination of the two)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla


Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

1. Boil 1 1/2 cups water, then add the oatmeal. Give it a stir and then let it sit and allow it to cool.
2. Boil 1 cup water, add raisins and let them soak for 5-10 minutes. (You could ad a splash of rum here if you want.)
3. Sift the flour with the baking soda and spices into a bowl.
4. In your mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until until well mixed.
6. Add sifted flour mixture alternating with the cooled oatmeal, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
7. Beat well.
8. Butter and flour an 8x12-inch baking pan.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Cool 15 minutes before frosting, if desired. (I used cream cheese frosting.)

Variations

Use Crasins or a Crasin/Raisin Combination. Just make sure that you're using a total of 1 cup.