This week I have been doing some thinking about a subject that I find concerning. The reason that it has come to mind in the first place is because two women in our family are basically being dumped by the men in their lives because they don’t want to care for them when they get sick. One came right out and said it. The other fled right after the partner they had for years had a stroke and was incapacitated.  I told Tony that men where very likely to divorce or separate from their partners if they get sick because they don’t want to be a caretaker. He didn’t believe me. I brought receipts. Here is a study that says exactly what I’m saying: In Sickness and in Health? Physical Illness as a Risk Factor for Marital Dissolution in Later Life. I’m not worried about Tony. He has been a caretaker and helped sick relatives. Other men, I’m not so sure. The point of all this is to say guys, man up and stop thinking your spouse is disposable because you think that only women are caretakers. In sickness and in health means something.

This week’s recipe is one I’m doing because I am curious. Using oats as the basis of a layer cake is intriguing. I’m game. Now this will not be a low carb recipe. It’s can’t be. However, I can lower the saturated fat and sugar. I starting with a recipe from Pass Me Some Tasty for Oatmeal Cake. I’m curious to see how it tastes. Will it taste like a cake with a hint of oats or more like a baked oatmeal. We shall see.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I swapped the butter in the cake with unsweetened applesauce to reduce the calories and saturated fat.
• I replaced the sugars with their sweetener equivalents to lower the sugar.
• I replaced the flour with almond and coconut flours to reduce the carbs.
• I replaced the cream cheese with a plant based variety to remove the dairy.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Oatmeal Cake

Serves 12

• 1 cup (106 grams) gluten-free quick cooking oats (see note if you only have rolled oats)
• 1 ¼ cup (303 grams by weight) boiling water
• ½ cup (112 grams) unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup granulated sweetener
• 1 cup, packed brown sweetener
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Frosting

• ½ cup (112 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces (226 grams) plant based cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups, packed (480 grams) powdered sweetener

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper, grease the sides, and set aside.
2. Place oats in a large mixing bowl. Pour boiling water over oats and let stand for 20 minutes.
3. After oats have soaked, add applesauce, sweeteners, and vanilla to the oats and mix until combined with an electric mixer (or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment).
4. Add eggs to the oat mixture and mix until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, xanthan gum and cinnamon. Then add to oat mixture and mix well.
6. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 25 minutes or until light golden brown and a knife inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean. Allow the cake layers to rest in their pans for several minutes. Then gently remove cakes from their pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

1. With an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), cream the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add in the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and powdered sugar (just one cup at a time so you don’t have a powdered sugar explosion when you turn on the mixer) and whip to combine, about 1 minute more.

Cake assembly

Place the first cake layer on a plate and top with a large dollop of frosting. Spread the frosting across the top of the cake evenly. Add the second cake layer and top with frosting. Finish by frosting the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting.

Note: if you only have rolled oats, measure out the oats and place them in a food processor. Pulse until they resemble quick cooking oats. This will not work with steel cut oats.