4.09.2010

Of Cake and Cacti . . .

No, it isn't a lesser-known sequel to "Of Mice and Men" . . .
but rather today's edition of Small Works' ever popular

T.G.I.F.F.T!  
(thank-goodness-it's-friday-favorites-time!)

And thank goodness, because my weekend hasn't even started yet
and already it could use some improving (one word -- FRAMING.)

So while I'm on break from painting polka dots for a moment, I thought I'd give you a few tidbits sure to improve your Friday, your Saturday, AND your Sunday, provided you have a very large cake pan.  (Because the cake referenced in the title is, of course, going to be gone by Sunday if you make it on Friday in the regular size.)

Some day I'm going to enter a contest of some kind with this recipe (and don't count me out for winning because I have a silly history of doing just that, which you can read about here if you care -- I'm just not as desperate for prize money as I was back then!) 




I developed this recipe because I was raised on the coffee cake from the Bisquick box and one Sunday morning I REALLY REALLY wanted coffee cake but the Bisquick box came up dry so it was an emergency and drastic measures had to be taken.  And I can honestly say I've never made another Bisquick coffee cake (not that I won't eat it gratefully if you make me one . . . but this cake is REALLY GOOD.)




Here's the recipe:

Susan's Oatmeal Coffee Cake

1 cup old fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:  1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.  Whisk eggs and brown sugar in another bowl.  When smooth, whisk in milk, butter and vanilla.  Pour over dry ingredients.  Fold in with rubber spatula, just until moistened. Pour batter into well-greased 9" cake pan or deep-dish pie plate.  Mix topping ingredients until crumbly -- sprinkle evenly over top of batter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

 
Most people write food blogs and illustrate them with beautiful pictures of the prepared recipe, but since anyone who reads this blog is well aware of the fact that I can't take a decent picture to save my life, I'm going to illustrate it with a little drawing instead:




Well . . . now that you mention it, it's true that I can't really draw either, but USE YOUR IMAGINATION.  (That's part of the point of Small Works, after all.)  For one thing, imagine a beautiful hand-made ceramic plate, which might account for the . . . ahem . . . organic shape.

I've tried to draw a true picture for you, which is why I've included a 32 oz. fountain Diet Coke -- because this is a picture of my third piece.  The first piece is just lovely with milk, of course, but by the time you get to the third, it's definitely time for something stronger.  And since I don't drink coffee, what else would I use to wash down my coffee-cake?

Once you've baked the cake and cut yourself a hefty piece, settle down at the computer (mind the crumbs near the keyboard!) and head over for a breathtaking spring tour (click here) of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ. Graciously provided by that extraordinarily talented nature lover, LuAnne at Invisible Woman, these photos make my spirit sing.  And when I look at them with cake in my mouth?  Heaven on earth.

If anyone actually makes the cake, will you please bring me a piece this weekend?  Because the kitchen is closed for framing week . . . and I can't eat breakfast at McDonald's EVERY day. (Well, I'm sure I actually can and probably would, but even I must admit it would be ill-advised.)

I'll be here no matter what time you stop by . . . . . ANYONE? . . . . 

(happy weekend.)

6 comments:

april said...

i think you should tell the story of your first recipe win. when i looked at invisible woman's pics, fritzy just kept saying "wow" the whole time - the only higher praise i've heard him give was the time he said his medicine tasted like "watermelon". (the kid has a little obsession with watermelon and i've already purchased it twice this past month from the grocery store due to his very cute pleadng.) side note - i loved how McD's was an official sponsor for the oplympics how there was a plethora of adds stating how all the olympic athletes eat at mcdonalds. that just a hard sell in my book.

anyhoo,

april said...

forgot to delete that "anyhoo" - just ignore it.

my word verification: dingib - that made having to leave a second comment worth it!

susan m hinckley said...

I don't know what a "dingib" is, but I feel like I am one some days . . .

I've told that recipe story previously and I would have provided a link to it, if I'd had time to search my blog and try to figure out when that was -- if I come across it, I'll add the link. Thanks, April!

luanne said...

Thanks for my slideshow *promo* and for your delicious-sounding cake recipe too. It sounds so good, I'm tempted to try doing some actual baking! Even though my sister got my share of the baking genes and then some (as my children will verify) your cake sounds maybe, possibly do-able, even for baking-impaired me.

Hope you have a fun weekend painting your polka dots!

susan m hinckley said...

And thank YOU, LuAnne -- for the beautiful photos! I hope everyone will take advantage of them. And as for the cake, it is perfectly suitable for the baking-impaired. Seriously. So easy, a caveman can do it. Happy baking!

Allie said...

I'll give dh the recipe - and I'll do the eating, lol! But I'll be drinking coffee. Can't function without coffee!

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