This old-fashioned Oatmeal Cake might not win any beauty awards, but one bite and it will instantly become a family favorite!
Any recipe with oats is a hit at our house – including these Oatmeal Raisin Muffins and these Oatmeal Cookies.
If you’ve been a reader here at Taste and Tell for awhile, you’ll probably know that I’m a fan of the old-fashioned, under-appreciated recipes.
The ones that may not look like much, but have a permanent spot in your recipe book. And the ones that most likely could be found in your grandmother’s recipe book.
This Oatmeal Cake definitely fits the bill.
This is one of those cakes that has been passed down through the generations. It’s not trendy or beautiful – but one bite and you’ll be hooked.
Believe me – it’s hard to stop at one slice!
Ingredients
- Water: You will need to soak the oats in water before adding them. Using warm water helps the oats to soften faster, and the excess liquid goes into the cake helping to keep it nice and moist.
- Oats: I have only tested this recipe with old fashioned oats. I would guess that quick oats would work, but I have not personally tried them.
- Sugar: You need both brown sugar and granulated sugar. The brown sugar goes into both the cake and the topping.
- Butter: I like to use unsalted butter so that I can better control the amount of salt. You’ll need softened butter for the cake, and then more butter for the topping.
- Eggs: Use large eggs, and bring them to room temperature for the best results.
- Flour: I have only tested this recipe personally with all-purpose flour, but have had readers make the cake successfully with gluten-free flour.
- Cinnamon: The cake doesn’t have a strong cinnamon flavor, but it is the perfect background flavor.
- Baking Soda: This will give the cake it’s lift and texture.
- Salt: The salt will balance the flavors.
- Milk: You just need a little bit of milk for the topping. I use 2%, but you could easily use whatever you have on hand, including non-dairy milk.
- Coconut: I use sweetened, shredded coconut for the topping. You could also use unsweetened coconut to make it a little less sweet.
How to Make Oatmeal Cake
STEP 1: Soak the oats in the warm water while you are preparing the batter.
STEP 2: Combine the butter and both sugars in a large bowl and cream until fully combined. Then add in the eggs and beat again until smooth.
STEP 3: Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. You want to make sure these are fully combined.
STEP 4: Add half of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix. Then add the soaked oatmeal and stir. Finally, mix in the remaining flour mixture. Stir this all together until fully combined.
STEP 5: Add the batter to a cake pan that has been greased. Bake the cake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs.
STEP 6: To make the topping, combine the butter, brown sugar, and milk in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Boil this for 1 minute.
STEP 7: Stir in the coconut.
STEP 8: Pour the mixture over the top of the baked cake. Place the cake under the broiler and broil for 1 minute. The topping will harden up just a bit. Let the cake cool before serving.
Oatmeal Cake Video
If you want to see how this cake is made, check out the video above.
Tips and Tricks
Don’t love coconut? Many readers have used nuts instead of coconut.
A few readers have also skipped the topping and added a cream cheese frosting instead.
This cake will last few days, stored covered in the refrigerator. That is – as long as it isn’t eater faster than that!
Many readers have also said that they don’t cook the topping, but just mix it all together well and broil it for a minute or two.
More Easy Family Favorite Cakes
Pumpkin Pie Cake
Cinnamon Roll Sheet Cake
Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
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Oatmeal Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 cups hot water
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 cup coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the water and the oatmeal and allow to soak while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Cream together the butter and both sugars. Beat in the eggs. In another bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour to the creamed butter mixture, followed by the soaked oatmeal, then the remaining flour, mixing between additions. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake until set, 35-40 minutes.
- For the topping, turn the oven to broil. Combine the butter, brown sugar and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, while stirring. Boil for one minute. Stir in the coconut. Pour over the cake, spread, then broil for one minute.
LuAnna says
My Grandma and my Mom also made this cake—it was the cake I requested for my birthday each year when I was a kid. If I remember correctly, my Mom added some cream instead of milk to the butter and brown sugar mixture (we milked cows, so the cream we skimmed was probably more like heavy whipping cream). Cream combined with sugar (or brown sugar) and butter, would basically make caramel. I don’t recall it crystallizing–the finished topping was glossy and toasty-golden-brown once it was broiled. Review a good recipe for caramel before making the topping, and there will probably be directions for washing down the insides of the pan with a wet pastry brush as the caramel is cooking to keep the sugar from crystallizing.
Sharyn Kevin says
The most fabulous cake, easy and I used unsweetened coconut.. Gone in hours.. lol.. thank you!
Sharyn Kevin says
This is an outstanding cake.. easy and delicious
RANDY says
PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR TODAY….AND MAKE THIS CAKE
Linda says
Do you put the topping on while the cake is still hot or should we let it cool first?
Deborah says
I do it while the cake is still hot. 🙂
Lora says
Wondering if anyone has tried the oatmeal cake with a gluten free flour such as almond flour or gluten free all purpose flour?
Michelle says
This cake was absolutely delicious! I’ve made it twice now. Once as is, and this last time I added raisins to the batter, and did 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts for the topping. Both were perfection! Thank you so much!
Jill Roberts says
This homemade old-fashioned oatmeal cake recipe is incredible! I will definitely cook it for my husband! I found your post from Pinterest ! Thanks for sharing, Deborah!
Natalie says
If I’m using a 8×8 pan***
Natalie says
If I’m not using a 8×8 baking pan, how long should i leave in the oven?
Katie says
Hi! If I wanted to use an 8×8 baking dish, how would I adapt the ingredients and baking time? I only have a small toaster oven available right now to use for my baking addiction and I LOVE this cake. I’ve made it before at the regular size, but I need to adjust it this time. Thanks!
Deborah says
I haven’t tried adapting it down, but I’m guessing that it would work. I would probably just try cutting the recipe right in half. I’m not sure on the baking time, but it will be thicker in the 8×8, so my guess would be that it wouldn’t be that much less. I’d keep a close eye on it, but I’m guessing about 10 minutes less baking time. Let me know if you try it and how it works out!
Jennifer Mullins says
Finally! I have been looking for a recipe similar to my grandmother’s recipe from when I was a kid. I made this for the first time yesterday evening and it was fabulous! I can’t believe how much it tastes like my granny’s! Also, it was the first time I have ever made a cake from scratch too…usually I just buy a box of cake mix. Perfect recipe and very easy to do. Thank you so much for posting. My family and I will enjoy it!
yuvia says
hi i made it but mine doesnt look the same like th er topping is different
Lauren says
I’m baking this right now and it smells amazing! I may skip broiling the topping as I tend to burn things instead of broiling them.. And I also added some vanilla to the cake. Can’t wait to try it!
Deborah says
Yay – hope you loved it!!
Bee says
Baking this right now. Can’t wait to tast it. I’m taking some of the comment suggestions into consideration. I cut both sugars by 1/4c. Other than that I’m following the recipe as written. Yay for oatmeal🎉
Vicky says
Mmm, I made this today, and successfully cut the recipe in half to bake in an 8×8 ” pan. I melted the butter and stirred in the brown sugar till melted, and added the coconut. Poured over the cake and broiled. Delicious. I always used the recipe for oatmeal cake from my Indiana Historical cookbook, but it wasn’t available to me today. I was happy to find this today. I cut the sugar a bit by not using the amount called for even when halved.
Deborah says
I’m so glad to hear that it works well halved!