Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake with Caramel Glaze

I LOVE this book.

It is my favorite baking book yet, given to me by my wonderful future sister-in-law. The pictures are great and it has nice little introductions for each recipe so you know what you're getting yourself into.  I secretly think that if the authors [Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito] met me, we would become best friends.


This weekend I tried the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake. I modified the icing to use a caramel glaze rather than the cream cheese. I think it is a perfect breakfast cake, if you're into eating cake for breakfast.


Recipe:

• 8 ounces chocolate chips
• 1/2 t. bourbon, Scotch, or favorite liquor
• 1 1/2 c. plus 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1 c. rolled oats
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1 1/2 t. cinnamon

I notice a substantial difference when I bake with ingredients that are at room temperature. I rarely ever do it because I forget, but I would still like to tell you that you should.

Start by tossing the chocolate chips in the liquor; mix in 2 tablespoons of the flour. This will keep the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom.

Heat 1 c. water to a boil. Pour over rolled oats and butter in a separate bowl. Mix to cover thoroughly, then let sit for 25 minutes. I admit, that is an annoying part of this recipe.

In another bowl mix the sugars, salt, soda, powder, and cinnamon. I also added vanilla here because I love it. Stir in the cooled oatmeal mixture and then the chocolate chips. I know I say this all the time, but eat some of this batter. It seriously is so good, you won't believe yourself.

Pour into a greased/buttered 9 by 13 inch pan (I used a square pan instead, but then wasn't able to use all the batter)...and bake at 375 degrees for exactly 45 minutes. The middle takes a while to bake thoroughly, and there is a lot of brown sugar in the recipe - so it will look dark and slightly burnt when it is not. 

Take the cake out and let cool completely. For the glaze, melt 4 T. butter on low heat. Mix in 1/4 c. sugar and 1/4 c. brown sugar until dissolved. Add 1/2 c. heavy cream, and bring to a low boil. Remove from heat and pour over the cooled cake.

Mmmm....as you can see some of my chocolate chips sank to the bottom, Matt Lewis is a fraud! That's ok, I will forgive him as that's what best friends do. It did not impact the taste of this delicious little cake.