Oatmeal Apple Raisin Cake

I think I should go through my old recipe files more often. When I found the previous recipe from 1977 - the Apple Cake, I also found some even older recipes I'd saved. This one, for Oatmeal Cake is from a newspaper clipping about 1950 that my mother had saved. The recipe fairly matches one from my Grandma Long's recipes of the 1930s, so it was probably a widely shared recipe of the time. The original, in my memory, was moist and delicious. Well, I wasn't wrong, this is really good. I had it with an omelette for breakfast this morning.

I can't help but tinker and update recipes, especially old ones, so here is my version, updated, for Oatmeal Apple Raisin Cake.

Why, you may ask, is it only half a cake? Because we had eaten half before I remembered to take the photo!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1 cup quick oats (or if you have regular oats, chop for 5 seconds in the food processor)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup - 1 stick, butter
1 1/2 cups boiling water, into which you put:
 3/4 cup golden raisins and 1/2 cup diced dried apples
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs

1- Slowly simmer raisins and dried apples for 10 minutes.

2- Cream together the 2 sugars and butter, then add the eggs and mix.
3- Mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder with the oats.
4- Pour in in the sugar-shortening mixture, then add the very hot water with the raisins and dried apples.
5- Add 1/2 cups nuts if desired.
Pour into a oiled 9 x 13 inch baking pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool, then add icing if desired (I like it without the icing):
6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flaked, unsweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or other favorite nuts

In medium bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, half and half and beat until smooth. Add coconut and nuts and spread on cooled cake.