Why do people love free food?
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I’ve been making this recipe for years. In the summer I add 1 1/2 cups of chopped up cherries. So yummy!
Karen
It’s so embarrassingly true. It doesn’t matter if it’s last year’s leftover Halloween candy rejects or stale crackers from yesterday’s meeting. It’s like a science – people walk into the lunchroom, cafeteria, or whatever else you call an eating place at work and start scanning to see if there are any freebies on the counter. And if you want some, you’d better get moving. They will be gone in twenty seconds. Ten seconds. Five. Gone.
Speaking as a teacher, I think that we, as a profession, are probably worst at treat hoarding. We exhaust our patience and sanity working with crazy sweet little people all day, and then we open the door into the teacher’s lounge and BAM. There they are. The treats. And with all reasonableness left somewhere between the behavior charts and excessive pencil sharpening and nose picking, suddenly we’re up to our elbows in some snack mix that we don’t even really like.
We = me.
At my old school in Minnesota, we had a weekly treat day. Treats could be anything from a Panera bagels and cream cheese smorgasbord to a taco bar to my personal favorite – a treasure box of assorted donuts from Cub Foods. OMG. I love donuts.
One time, this cake mysteriously appeared on the counter in our teacher’s lounge. Like, this very cake that you see here today. Luckily I had the sense to snarf down an extra large piece (or two?) before the first bell and it only took one bite before I realized that this was indeed The World’s Best Chocolate Oatmeal Cake. It just happens to have oatmeal in it. Yes, that feels random to me too. Anyways, I was deliriously happy. Some fellow teachers weren’t so lucky.
That cake was gone before 8am, and here’s the thing: our school isn’t that big. I’m telling you. We are treat hoarders.
The baker of this thing of pure beauty turned out to be my coworker, Mimi, and better yet, her grandma turned out to be the holder of the original recipe. So. Mimi and her grandma. They ROCK.
The cake is amazing. Lightly chocolatey, super moist, studded with chocolate chips, and topped with an old fashioned chocolate marshmallow frosting. The kind that crystallizes and gets little cracks in it when you slice into it. LOVE.
I don’t even have anything to say about the oats. It’s a delicious mystery. If that’s not your thing, this Double Chocolate Cake might be the ticket.
I see this tablescape in your future. Very soon.
The World’s Best Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 20 1x
Description
This world’s best chocolate oatmeal cake recipe is from my coworker’s grandma. Made with chocolate chips, cocoa, and oatmeal, topped with fudge frosting.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten with fork
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup quick cooking oats*
- 1 3/4 cups boiling water
- 1 12 oz bag chocolate chips, divided (go for the Ghirardelli*)
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2–3/4 cup chocolate chips (Ghirardelli again, please)
- 1/2–3/4 cup mini marshmallows*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and mix well.
- Add flour, soda, salt and cocoa and mix until just incorporated. The batter will be very thick.
- Add water to oatmeal and let stand for a few minutes. Once oats are soft, add oats/water mixture to the batter and mix well. Stir in half of the bag of chocolate chips (6 ounces).
- Pour into a greased or buttered rectangular 9×13 cake pan. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the rest of the bag of chocolate chips (6 ounces).
- Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until the surface springs back lightly when touched and your house smells amazing. Do not overbake. Let cool completely.
- For the frosting, melt the butter, sugar, and milk in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 30 seconds.
- Reduce heat to low and add chocolate chips and marshmallows. Stir or whisk until frosting is smooth. Pour immediately over the cooled cake. The frosting crystallizes almost immediately as it cools so it’s important to get it on the cake while it’s still piping hot. Allow the frosted cake to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Or… not.
Notes
*You can substitute rolled oats for the quick cooking oats, but they should be soaked in the boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Also, if you use rolled oats, the texture of the cake will be different as the oats will be more noticeable.
*Any chocolate chips will work.
*Regular size marshmallows work, too. They just take longer to melt.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chocolate cake, chocolate oatmeal cake, oatmeal cake
Guess what else? Mimi is going to need a lot of chocolate cake in the coming months because she’s pregnant with TWIN BABY GIRLS! Chocolate cake and baby girls. That’s the best kind of life.
Thanks Mimi and Mimi’s grandma for letting me share The World’s Best Chocolate Cake with… the world. Yummy.
Do you think I can use oat flour for the flour portion of the cake? I’m Gf?
I made the cake and it’s very rich. I might play with it to decrease the amount of chocolate but overall very good. Great choice in chocolate, that part is so important! I’m confused about a part of the recipe. The list of ingredients says to use melted butter but the directions ask for the butter to be creamed with sugar which is typically only done with softened butter. Is it important to use melted butter instead of the softened butter? Thank you!!
Ok I hate to be a Debbie Downer but this cake is as not good. Was thick, chewy and tasted like nothing. Sorry, need to be honest so good prevails.
Sorry to hear this wasn’t a winner for you, Bryan! Thanks for sharing this with us.
Hi, looking to make my daughter’s favorite birthday cake after the restaurant stopped making it. It was a traditional 2 layer cake with a vanilla icing. Can you make with 8 or 9 inch pans & bake for how long? Same temp?
Looking to do “Magical Icing” that is vanilla.
Not sure if you tried the above.
Hi, Bryan! How fun! We haven’t tested this out yet in an 8 or 9 inch pan, but it should work. It should be the same baking temperature and depending on how full your pan is, you might just need to take it out of the oven a little sooner. We’d suggest starting to check the cake for doneness around 25-30 minutes. We also have this more recent and delicious cake recipe your daughter might enjoy! https://pinchofyum.com/cafe-latte-turtle-cake-for-two
Could I use a Bundt pan? How many does this feed? Thanks! Looks so good.
Hi Whitney! We haven’t tested this cake in a bundt pan, so it’s hard to say. There are 20 servings in this cake when made in a 9×13 pan.
Do u think I can use oat flour I stead of rolled outs or take off a cup of regular flour leave out oats and substitute 1.5 cup oat flour?
We haven’t tested the recipe with oat flour, but we think it could be a good substitute. If you give it a try, we’d love to know how it turns out!
Wow– I’ve never even heard of a chocolate oatmeal cake! Now I know what will be in my near future. 🙂 That frosting is drool worthy. Thanks so much for sharing!
Enjoy!
An old lady from church gave me a recipe for “Chocolate Breakfast Cake” over 20 years ago and it is this EXACT cake recipe and it has always been my favourite. I just randomly decided to Google it and see if anybody else makes this amazing cake and I found your site! It’s so neat to read a recipe and realize it’s the same. Haha
BONUS: This random search has led me to your icing recipe! I’ve always just served the cake without icing, but I am very excited to try this icing addition. 😀
This has been my “birthday” cake for over 20 years now, and it’s so moist and heavy and delicious every other “cake” seems dry and unsubstantial in comparison. Haha! I literally don’t like regular cake – that’s how much this amazing cake has spoiled me. 😛
Glad to hear you enjoyed this, Derek!
The cake sounds amazing! I was just wondering, what kind of brown sugar you used – we donť have as many options in Prague as you do in the US, but I do know the type of sugar used can affect the result significantly. Should it be more golden and dry, or dark and damp for the best results?
I’m going to make this as a layer cake for my small group. Any suggestions on a frosting in the center?
I’ve been making this recipe for years. In the summer I add 1 1/2 cups of chopped up cherries. So yummy!
Your picture shows a square pan but your directions call for a 9×13 pan. Which is it? I’m getting ready to make this yummy looking cake.
Can this be baked in a 13 by 18 sheet pan? If so how long? 🙂
Do you think I could cook this in two 9 in cake pans?
Could we bake the cake on Wednesday and serve it on Saturday? Should we put it in the fridge then? Do you have any tips? We will bring this cake to my college son on Thursday and the Friednsgiving party would be on Saturday. Tks.
I’d definitely keep it in the fridge to stay fresh!
Yes! Definitely the best chocolate oatmeal cake I’ve ever had. Next time I will try leaving out the chocolate chips in the cake because with the icing it seems like it will be sweet enough.
Hi Lindsay! I made some adaptations to this recipe to accommodate food allergies (wheat, dairy, soy) and it turned out great, so I thought I’d share….
I used Bob’s Red Mill GF all-purpose flour in place of the flour, as well as GF oatmeal.
After doing a test run (single portion before the dinner party), I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup for both the brown and white sugar, used coconut oil instead of butter, and doubled the cocoa powder to 3 T. I also added 2 T of brewed espresso (to make the chocolate even more defined). I also used Guittard chocolate (made in a peanut-free factory) in semi-sweet morsels which happen to be a very rich and indulgent chocolate while being safe for me to consume.
For the frosting, I used coconut oil in place of butter, coconut milk in place of milk, and reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup. I used a bit more marshmallows (a full cup) (soy-free!) and a bit more semi-sweet chocolate chips (3/4 to 1 cup – I eyeballed it).
Even with all the modifications, it turned out GREAT! This is my new go-to GF chocolate cake recipe! It’s absolutely phenomenal.
So glad to hear that!
This is great–my husband can’t wait for me to make it again.
Is it possible to remove the cake from pan and then put on the frosting?
Hi Carla! This cake is pretty moist, so it might have some trouble coming out of the pan in one piece. We’d probably recommend keeping it in and just frosting the top!
I’ve made this several times, and I’m so glad I’ve found it! Everyone loves it, even my husband who does not typically like sweets.
Hi –
The photo shows a 9×9 pan but he written recipe calls for a 9×13 pan -help!
Thanks so much 😀
Hi Sandra! Hard to tell in the pictures, but it is in fact a 9×13 pan. 🙂
Hi Lindsay,
Thank you for this recipe! It is most definitely THE best chocolate oatmeal cake ever–I’d say the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve made to date. Too bad my photos weren’t good enough to tag you on instagram. I made half the recipe and it worked out perfectly. Your blog is an inspiration! 🙂