Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

I don't have a picture for this recipe since I didn't intend to post the recipe. However, I had a request for the recipe and if I'm going to type the recipe into the computer I might as well put it on the blog where I can find it again easily.

This recipe came from a book in the stack of books I recently bought (scroll down for the pic) -- Cake Keepers Cakes. When I was looking for a recipe I wanted something quick and easy and I wanted chocolate. This recipe looked interesting since the description said it reminded her of her favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and I was definitely okay with that. The cake had an interesting texture from the cooked oatmeal and it was moist and flavorful. It also kept quite well. My husband had it on his desk for 3 days at work and it was still fine on day 3, in fact possibly a little better on day 3 than on day 1.

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

3/4 cup boiling water

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Place the oats in a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over the oatmeal. Let stand until cool. (I stuck mine in the fridge for 15-20 minutes)

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and dust with flour. (I used the pam baking spray).

Combine te flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the oats.

With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cakes until it's golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean about 50 to 55 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can turn it out of the pan after that and dust it with powdered sugar, or serve from the pan which is what I did.