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Date Cake from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle

Perhaps a British creation, this DAte Cake is very similar to Sticky Toffe Pudding
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: British
Keyword: date cake, kate zuckerman, sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

Date Mixture:

  • 255 g fresh dates 9 oz I used around 15 Medjool dates
  • 2 tbsp brandy Can substitute Grand Marnier
  • 2 tsp instant espresso powder

Wet Ingredients:

  • 12 tbsp unsalted butter, 170 gm or 6 oz at room temperature
  • 1 cup soft brown sugar 175gms
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature

Dry Ingredients:

  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 220gm
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1½ tsp baking soda

Toffee Sauce

  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter 2 ounces
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1.5 tbsp rum, brandy, or bourbon

Instructions

The Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F).
  • Line a (9 inch) square cake tin with parchment baking paper.
  • Halve the dates and remove the pits. Place the dates in a mixing bowl and add the brandy and espresso powder. Add 240 ml (1 cup) of boiling water to the bowl and allow the mixture to steep for 10 minutes.
  • Puree the date mixture in a food processor (or you could use a resilient stick blender, or a stand mixer) - it doesn't have to be completely smooth.
  • Cream the butter for 1 minute in a stand mixer, then add the sugar and continue creaming for another 6 to 8 minutes, until the mixture is light, fluffy and pale. Stop periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on low speed for around 20 seconds after each one. If it starts to look curdled, don't worry about it - it will balance out when the dry ingredients are added.
  • In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Don't add the bicarb soda yet - just in case you were going to plonk in all the dry ingredients, and then go 'bugger' after going back to the recipe (which didn't happen this time...). With the mixer on slow speed, and half the flour mixture to the butter, sugar and eggs.
  • Add the baking soda to the date mixture and stir for around 10 seconds.
  • Keeping the mixer on slow, add the date mixture to the cake batter and incorporate thoroughly. Then, add the remaining half of the flour and spices and mix until combined and no floury streaks remain. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on slow speed for 30 seconds.
  • Pour the batter into the lined tin, and level the top with a spoon or spatula. It's a very runny batter before being baked, just in case you look at it and wonder how it's going to turn into a cake (or is it just me that has those worries, borne of the until-now dodgy oven?). Bake on the centre shelf of the oven, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the centre of the cake is set when tested with a thin skewer. My cake was done after 48 minutes. Allow to cool in the cake tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Toffee Sauce

  • In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer mixture for 2 minutes.
  • Add cream, a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking after each addition. After adding all the cream, whisk in rum. Remove from heat and transfer to a sauce bowl or pitcher.
  • Serve over Date Cake. The classic recipe calls for poking holes in the cake, pouring sauce over it, and letting the cake absorb the sauce. This cake, on its own, is very moist, so it doesn't call for this step. But, in my experience, be generous with the sauce when serving.
  • Oh, and vanilla ice cream goes really well too.

Notes

Sauce is best served warm.  It will keep in the fridge for approximately 1 week.