Oatmeal Cake

This is a great, old fashioned cake. It is especially good during the cooler months. The icing is more of a cooked praline, which is lovely.

Oatmeal Cake

Cake

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup shortening

 1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Icing

1/2 cup butter

3 Tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 - 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking pan and set aside.  Put the oats in a mixing bowl, pour the boiling water over them, and set aside for 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the shortening, sugars, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer, adding the soaked oatmeal.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat them into the wet mixture until the batter is evenly mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile make the icing.  Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan and stir in the milk.  Add the brown sugar.  Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for several minutes, until it reaches the soft ball stage (about 235 degrees, or the icing forms a small ball when dropped into a glass of chilled water).  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the nuts.

When you take the cake out of the oven, turn on the broiler. Spoon the icing onto the cake and spread it evenly over the top. Place the cake under the broiler very briefly, just until the icing bubbles over the entire surface - it will only take moments..  Transfer the cake to a rack and cool, at least slightly, before slicing.