Oatmeal Cake With Coconut/Raisin Topping

It doesn't get much easier than this. The original called for 1 cup of chopped pecans in the topping, which we had to skip due to nut allergy. I substituted raisins, which go nicely with oatmeal and cinnamon anyway-a perfect fit.

This is a nice, not-too-rich cake with only a couple eggs and half a stick of butter. The original called for margarine, but that's not a product I have in the house, and believe me, the butter didn't hurt the cake any. Isn't the popular theory of the moment that margarine is actually worse for you than butter? I can't keep track anymore. UM, the oatmeal and raisins are good for you.

The recipe is from one of my favourite cookbooks:
From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens.
I have literally used this book to the point where it is falling from the binding each time I pick it up. I don't care-I'm not parting with it! It survived the tornado, so I'm a bit sentimental about it. Speaking of the tornado-it will be the one year anniversary on the 4th, and I'm STILL finding cracks in the walls and bits of melted plaster behind furniture! What a mess. Our neighbours had a bunch of lumber delivered last week to re-build their hay barn (the one that ended-up atop our Volvo) so we are all getting back to something resembling normal, but it does take time-a year anyway.

Speaking of the lumber...
I spotted the pile from my kitchen window and the delivery people had spray painted the buyer's name on the side.

"Old _(last name)_____________"
"Wow." I thought. "I sure hope he knows him, to call him "old" that way."

Yeah, the only one getting "Old" around here is me-or my eyes anyway, as it read "SOLD."
Sigh. Maybe I should have baked carrot cake-I hear carrots are good for vision.

You Will Need:

Cake:

1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup butter or margerine
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1/4 cup softened butter
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup coconut
1 cup raisins or chopped pecans


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 inch pan and set aside. In a bowl, pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and set aside to cool as you work. In another bowl, cream the butter, sugars and eggs together until smooth and light. Add the oatmeal and mix well. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely in pan. Prepare the topping as follows:

Mix everything together and spread atop cooled cake. Place under the broiler for two minutes, or until mixture is bubbling and begins to brown. Remove, let cool before serving.

Make a very large cake.