My Grandma's Oatmeal Cake is an old-fashioned cake made with rolled oats and a delicious coconut almond topping. As they say, “an oldie, but a goodie”!
This recipe comes straight from my grandmother's recipe box, and it's been one of our family's favorites for decades! Other recipes I love that came from my grandmother include: Baked Rice Pudding, Fresh Apple Cake, and Peach Cobbler.
Grandma's Oatmeal Cake
I have so much love for this delicious cake! It's in a league of it's own as far as taste–it's uniquely delicious, and most people haven't tried it before and go crazy for it! I think the best part is the coconut/almond topping that gets broiled at the end. It adds a sweet crunch that pairs so well with the extra moist oatmeal cake.
How to make perfect oatmeal cake:
- Add oatmeal and butter to a bowl and pour boiling water on top. Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, brown sugar, and white sugar and beat well.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Add to the bowl with wet sugar mixture and stir to combine.
- Add oatmeal mixture and stir to combine.
- Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Make the coconut frosting. While the cake is baking, make the topping by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Broil. Remove the cake from the oven and turn the oven to high broil. Spread the topping evenly over the warm cake and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the coconut is golden brown.
Making Oatmeal Cake Ahead of Time:
This cake can definitely be made in advance. In fact, it tastes just as good if not better made one day ahead of time. Allow it to cool to room temperature and store it on the counter tightly, covered in tinfoil.
TWO Things that set this recipe apart from the others:
- No quick-cooking oats. You'll notice many recipes call for quick oats. I think true old-fashioned oatmeal cake deserves old-fashioned rolled oats. Plus the texture and flavor are better with rolled oats.
- Coconut Almond topping. I love the flavor and crunch of the chopped almonds in the topping. You could also use walnuts (walnuts were used more often in my Grandma's day), but I like the almonds better for this cake.
CONSIDER TRYING THESE POPULAR “OLD-FASHIONED” DESSERTS:
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
Recipe
Grandma's Oatmeal Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the topping
- 6 Tablespoons butter , room temperature
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup nuts
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13'' pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add the oatmeal and butter to a bowl and pour boiling water on top. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, brown sugar, and white sugar and mix well.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add to the bowl with eggs and sugars and stir to combine.
- Add the oatmeal mixture and stir to combine.
- Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the topping by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Remove the cake from the oven and turn the oven to high broil.
- Spread the topping evenly over the warm cake and place under the broiler for 2-4 minutes or until the coconut is golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Create a FREE Account to save your favorite recipes and create meal plans
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe July 2015. Updated August 2019.
This post contains affiliate links.
Hi! Thanks for your recipe!
Any way I don’t do it too moist? And what can I do so the toppings sticks to the cake? Everything I slice it, toppings come off.
Baked this yesterday following all the instructions except that I left off the broiled topping (can’t have those ingredients). The cake is SO moist, flavorful, and yummy; Hubby loved it, too. A definite keeper…thanks, both to you and your grandma!
This has to be one of the best oatmeal cakes I’ve ever tasted! I did add some raisins I soaked in a spiced rum (1 cup), but that’s the only thing I changed. I took this cake to a birthday dinner, and people came back for seconds. I was told over and over how much they really loved this cake. Thank you for an awesome recipe!
Love this recipe. Tried it last night with a little twist. I added a bit of dates to replace the sugar and it was really good. Thank you!
Moist and delicious.
This recipe gas also been in our family for many years.I am almost 70 and always asked my Mom to make this cake for my birthdays. After she was gone, I baked it for myself. The only thing different is that I put it in an 8×8 square pan to bake. I am making it for my granddaughter today as she has been working hard. You can’t go wrong with this cake.
Just made this. Never heard of it before. Easy instructions. Delicious!!!! This is a keeper!
Add 3/4 cup of evaporated milk instead of1/2.
Soooo many compliments. Interesting cuz young adults had never tried it let alone even heard of it. It was so good and got to spend the afternoon thinking about my mom and her mom when they used to make it! My daughter just texted asking g for the recipe.
Delicious as was my mom’s but had to bake longer than called for. Thank
I’ve made this cake twice. The 1st time I made it I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out very well, the 2nd time I altered the recipe slightly. I added 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg and 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. So good!! My husband loves this cake! ( both versions)