Spiced Oat Cake with Caramelised Pecan Coconut Icing

Serves 12 Prep Time 10 minutes   Cook Time 65 minutes   Rated: Print

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A tender, warmly spiced oat cake crowned with a buttery caramelised pecan topping. It's the cake that makes the whole house smell like a hug.

Some cakes are for showing off. This one is for eating, preferably in generous slabs and preferably still slightly warm. It's an old-fashioned spiced oat cake, the kind that's been passed around church fêtes and country kitchens for generations, and for good reason. Soaking the oats first keeps the crumb incredibly moist, while cinnamon, and our favourite vanilla give it that cosy, comforting warmth.

Then there's the icing, and to be honest it's the real reason you're here. Butter, brown sugar and milk are cooked down with a generous handful of pecans until they're rich, caramelised and toffee-like, and it sets into a sticky, crunchy, glorious topping. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for it to cool enough to cut.

Serving suggestions

Serve it warm, with a dollop of thick cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top, for a proper dessert.

For afternoon tea, it's at its best with a strong cup of tea or a flat white. A cake like this deserves a proper sit-down.

Make it a dessert with a drizzle of extra warm caramel sauce and a spoonful of crème fraîche to cut through the sweetness.

It's a great lunchbox and morning tea option, since it keeps beautifully for several days in an airtight container and only gets better as the spices settle in.

 

Need

Do

1  

Combine boiling water and oats in a bowl and allow to soak for up to 1 hour.

2  

Preheat oven to 170ºC. Grease a 20cm square cake pan and line base with baking paper.

3  

Measure butter, sugars, eggs, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder, and vanilla into the mixing bowl and mix 30 sec/speed 6. Scrape sides of bowl and mix 30 sec/speed 4.

4  

Add flour and soaked oats and mix 10 sec/speed 4. Scrape sides of bowl and mix 10 sec/speed 4.

5  

Pour into tin and bake 50-60 minutes checking after 50 minutes.

6  

To make icing, measure all ingredients into the mixing bowl and combine 5 sec/Reverse/speed 4. Scrape sides of bowl and combine 5 sec/Reverse/speed 4. Spread icing over hot cake and place under hot grill until bubbling and golden (about 5 minutes). KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE on the icing under the grill so it does not burn!

7  

Cool in tin before removing it and serving.

Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.

Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once! 

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