Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Butterfly Cake

The next few posts are full of delicious food with lousy photos. For whatever reasons, lately it feels like it's all I can do to grab a few very much not staged shots before we dig in. And not staged means you can see computers, pepper grinders, random cookbooks, phones, keyboards, hands, you name it peeking in the corners of the pictures. Alas alas.


But you trust me by now, right? So believe me when I say that this cake is really worth making, whether my pictures sucked you in or not. It is actually quite unique, in a subtle kind of way. I expected it to taste like a chocolate chip pound cake--plus the beauty of knowing it was a tad healthier. But actually the oats make a strong comment here. They are rustic, chewy and definitively present. My family went crazy for this; much like that Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Chip Cake, every last crumb of this was consumed long before it could get even a little dried out. And the kids of course got a gigantic hoot out of the butterfly pan I used. Actually, I confess, so did I. (For the record, the cake is a "snacking" cake and originally intended for a 8 inch square pan (2 inches deep)).

Note: Read the recipe through and make sure you give yourself time for the oats to cool.


Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Butterfly Cake
Adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes, Lauren Chattman

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups (189 g) AP flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Pour the boiling water over the oats in a heat-proof bowl. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour (or use Baker's Joy type product) your butterfly pan (or an 8X8X2 pan). Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Remove 1 tablespoon of thix mixture and toss it with the chocolate chips. Set both aside.

Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high with an electric mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in the oats.

Add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing on low speed if using electric mixer. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan; smooth the top level. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.