Oatmeal Cake with berries and a coconut-pecan frosting

I made this oatmeal cake for our Christmas breakfast at work. I thought it fitting for breakfast as it contains oatmeal :) I never made one before, but it turned out pretty good. It is a heavy cake with the barley flour, flax seeds and oats, but I used a nice coconut-pecan frosting which gave it a good creamy balance.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup barley flour
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds (or chia seeds) 
• 1 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon and nutmeg)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 package vanilla sugar)
• 1-1/2 cups mixed berries, frozen

For a homemade coconut-pecan frosting (I used a store bought frosting):

• 1-1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Alternatively: a Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Cake: 

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

1. Add the white and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add the butter, cut into small pieces. Mix with an electrical hand mixer for 2 minutes. Now, add the eggs and buttermilk and mix till creamy.
2. In a big bowl, whisk together the rest of the dry ingredients - white and barley flour, flax seeds, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt, vanilla sugar and oats. Make a well in the middle and pour the liquid mix in. Stir till it becomes a thick batter.
3. Use frozen berries. Do not thaw or rinse them, leave them in the reezer until right before stirring them into the batter. The more liquid they give up while thawing, the grayer will the batter turn. Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the berries and mix. Now, carefully fold the berries under the batter. 
4. Pour the batter into a baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, untill a fork poked into the center comes out dry. Take out the cake and let cool dwon for a while. Spread the store bought frosting evenly over the cake.

Homemade Frosting:

I used a store bought coconut-pecan frosting, if you want to prepare your own coconut-pecan topping, combine all ingredients for the topping and spread over the warm cake. Return to the oven and broil for 2-4 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Take the cake out of the oven and let cool down before serving.

If you do not want to have such a sweet topping, you can alternatively use a Streusel topping. Therefore, mix the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with your fingers or forks and mix until combined and crumbly. Mix in the pecans. Sprinkle the Streusel topping evenly over the unbaked cake batter and bake it with the cake in the oven.

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