Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake by Nancy Young

If I've got more leftover oatmeal than I need for After Breakfast Bread, I make Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake at the same time. They're both easy to make, and use a lot of shared ingredients. I make the bread dough first, and while the dough's on its first rise, I make the cake batter and bake the cake. The bread is usually ready to shape by then, and there's only about a half- hour wait before the bread can be baked, and the oven is well preheated.

This cake is unusually quick to make, and has all the health benefits of wholegrains and all the delights of chocolate. Between the butter and the oatmeal there's salt enough for the cake, but if you like, you can add a pinch (or two) more.

Ingredients:

½ cup butter
1 cup unrefined cane sugar, or other preferred sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼-1/3 cup cooked oatmeal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
About 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
About one-half of a 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pinch salt (optional)

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla and cooked oats. Beat well and add the eggs and beat for about 3-4 minutes, until quite light. Stir the baking powder and salt, if using, into the flour, and add to the bowl, beating lightly. The amount of flour used will depend on both the amount of oatmeal and the size of the eggs. Add another 1/4 cup of flour if the dough is very wet. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into any buttered 10-inch cake or pie pan—square, oval or round, and pop into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake until cake tests clean. Cool on racks before slicing.

Tags: 2010, Recipes by Nancy Young