Date and Walnut Cake

There’s something quite alluring about a slice of freshly baked date and walnut cake as they compliment each other so well and is a perfect accompaniment to your favourite brew. It’s tender, sweet, nutty and full of flavours, and to have a Christmas flair I’ve added some cinnamon and nutmeg.

This cake has a wonderful mix of ingredients and spices which make its so unique and flavourful. The dates provide lots of sweetness and moisture, which makes this a convenient make-ahead dessert for holiday period as the cake will not dry out if you make it a day or two in advance. The walnuts which have a slightly bitter nuttiness add texture and crunch. We add a variety of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom which spice it up and give a whole new complexion to this cake.

Dates are just awesome as an ingredient. They might not be a staple in many pantries but for vegan and plant based diets they are a star ingredient. Dates have natural sugar and also have a wonderful sticky quality which makes them a very interesting dry fruit to use in cooking. Dates themselves also have many health benefits as they are highly nutritious, they are used in energy bars to replenish glucose levels and are also high in fibre. This cake is both delicious and healthy, and perfect to eat as a desert with ice cream of your choice or to compliment your afternoon tea.

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Helpful Tips and Tricks for making the Date and Walnut Cake:

• When making this cake it’s important to soften the dates in a hot liquid as it helps it a lot when mashing. I think it would also be delicious if you soaked the dates in some hot black tea. 
• Medjool dates work the best with cake as they are really sweet, sticky and soft. Other varieties will also work, just put the same amount 500 grams of dates.
• When I’m baking this cake for special occasions I love to glaze it with a caramel glaze.

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Date and Walnut Cake

Serves: 12-14 Slices Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 1 Hour 1 Hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 2 voted )

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Ingredients

• 500 grams medjool dates, stoned and finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour, level
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground green cardamom
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (optional)

Wet Ingredient:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup caster sugar

method

1. Put the chopped dates in a bowl and pour 300ml of boiling water. Leaves to stand until cold. 
2. Discard 150 ml of the water and puree the dates with a hand held mixer or mash them with a potato masher.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 9" round cake pan with oil, then dust it with flour all around, ensuring that you get all the edges.
4. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl using a spoon.
5. Using a stand mixer beat together the sugar, oil and eggs until light. Add the 1/2 of the dry mixture, until well combined. Then add the remaining half of the dry mixture one tbsp at a time. The batter will look quite thick.
6. Add the pureed dates and walnuts and mix until well combined.
7. Spoon the mixture into the greased tin and bake for about 50-55 minutes. Check the cake after 45 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake, to see if comes out clean, if yes the cake is baked.
8. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15-20 minutes then remove it from the tin and place it on the cake stand. 

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you did, take a picture and tag me on Instagram at @poetryofspices!