Cake For Breakfast

Breakfast is easily my favorite meal of the day. I find it increasingly difficult to go to a cute diner, have a cup of coffee, a veggie filled omelet, and some toast or potatoes, and not enjoy yourself. That's a smile on a plate, seriously. For those of you that don't like breakfast, or don't have time for it, that's too bad. I think you're missing out :)

Which bring me up to this new recipe. As a kid I ALWAYS had breakfast, and most days it was sugared up oatmeal, or these corn toasties. I know, no protein, right? Man, times change!

And sometimes, when you oversleep, you grab cake for breakfast. Yup, cake. Actually, thinking back, I don't know why I didn't sleep in more. It's like a reward for being late. Oh, you messed up? Well here's a prize for you on your way out the door :)

Now, we all know that cake is not a good breakfast choice, and don't need any specialized schooling to understand why. Lack of nutrients, blood sugar, and so on and so on. However, if you are going to eat a cake for breaking your night fast, it might as well have a little fiber...

And as for frosting in the morning? Well, um I don't have an answer for that one. Let's just say everyone should start the day off in a good mood...

Oatmeal Cake
Dr. Adam

-1 cup boiling water
-1 cup dry, quick small oats
-1 cup packed brown sugar
-1 stick unsalted butter, softened
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-Dash or two of nutmeg and salt

-1/4 cup unsalted butter
-1/2 cup sugar
-3/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Place the dry oatmeal in a bowl with boiling water, and let it sit until it is all absorbed and thick, about 20-30 minutes. Let it cool down a bit.

Preheat your oven to 350*. Take out a large 13x9 pan, and grease the bottom and sides with the butter wrapper you took off your butter.

In a large bowl, cream the stick of butter and brown sugar together, until pale brown, and then add the eggs and vanilla, mixing thoroughly. Add in the cooled oatmeal, and you'll have a semi loose brown sugar oatmeal.

Now you can mix the dry ingredients together and add them, or just dump them all in one at a time. The less dirty bowls the better, so just add them in one at a time... flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix well, until you have a thin batter. Don't worry if it's not as thick as you'd like, that's perfectly fine.

Spread the batter out into the prepared pan, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes. While it's cooling, change the oven to broil, and prepare the frosting.

In a small saucepan, add the butter and melt it on medium-low. Add the sugar and stir constantly so it doesn't burn, and then add the coconut. If the mixture is a little thick, add a tablespoon of milk if needed. Top the cake with the coconut frosting, and smooth it over. Place in the oven, and broil until the topping comes out golden brown, taking care not to burn it. Remove and cool.

Yup, as you know from my past oatmeal recipes, this cake is awesome. I've always been a sheet cake man, and this combines a ton of my favorite flavors, and is nice for a September fling, if I may say so. Totally recommended once the weather cools down a bit.

Sorry I haven't been around too often. I had a wonderful wedding last weekend (not mine), and it was awesome to see old friends. You know you have some real good ones if you can pick up excatly where you left off a year ago. This housing thing is JUST about finished, and soon after, I'll have the task of moving and settling in. So basically, I'll start to have free time by Halloween... haha :) Speaking of Halloween, any good costume ideas? I need to put my thinking cap on for this one! Enjoy your football weekend, and we'll catch up soon :)