Spoon & Shutter

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake (Photo by Susan)

From Susan: When the Shutter’s away, the Spoon will … catch up on English TV mysteries and bake (and take amateur photos). So, after a solitary dinner of hummus, veggies and popcorn (No judgment, please … I’m trying not to drink wine during the week and anything else I could think of begged for an accompanying glass), I put on an episode of “Rosemary and Thyme” and preheated the oven.

So now, what to bake? Nothing with a lot of steps; even cookies seemed like sort of a pain. A simple cake, something warm, homey and comforting that could be stirred up with a wooden spoon, like Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake from the book “Baked Explorations.”

I’ve never met them, never been to their uber-hip bakeries in Brooklyn and Charleston, S.C., but I love those wild and crazy guys from Baked. “Explorations” is the second book by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, and I’ve been fascinated with its stylish, delicious pages since I baked up their Nutella scones and raspberry-sauced French toast for our newspaper column in December.

The scones and toast were rich and festive, whereas this cake is a rustic sort of sweet. And as the winter winds whipped around the house, a warm square of it and a steaming mug of tea were just what I wanted.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

Makes a 9X13-inch cake

1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

½ teaspoon bourbon, Scotch or favorite liquor (I used bourbon; you could substitute vanilla extract)

1 ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats (use the old-fashioned kind for best texture)

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature

2 eggs, slightly beaten

¾ cups granulated sugar

1 ¼ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used light; dark will give you a more molasses-y flavor)

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 and position a rack in the center. Butter (I use Baker’s Joy) the sides and bottom  of a 9X13 glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Heat 1 ¼ cups water to boiling.

Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl and toss them with the bourbon until covered. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons flour over the chips and toss again until covered. This will keep them from settling at the bottom of the cake during baking. Set aside.

Place the oats and cubed butter in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the oat mixture, wait 30 seconds, and stir to moisten all the oats and melt the butter. Set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, both sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon until well combined. Fold in the cooled oatmeal and stir until well combined. Gently fold in the remaining flour and then the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting. (I waited about 10!)

The Baked boys’ recipe includes an optional cream cheese frosting. I don’t want to cheat you, so if you want more sweetness (and calories!) here it is:

Beat 5 tablespoons unsalted, softened butter with a mixer until creamy. Add 5 ½ ounces softened cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted and ¾ teaspoon vanilla, beat until well combined. Spread over the top of cooled cake.

Recipe from “Baked Explorations” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2010)