Guest Post for The Heritage Cook: Mom's Date Cake
 
 
Ingredients
Date Cake
  • 225 grams (7-1/4 oz) seedless dates
  • ½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 85 grams all purpose flour
  • 60 grams sugar (see note)
  • 100 grams (2-3/4 oz) butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ tsp vanilla essence
  • Pinch salt
  • ½ tsp baking soda
Toffee Sauce
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 6 tbsp fresh cream, at room temperature
  • ½ cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts, optional
  • Instructions
Instructions
Make the Cake:
  1. Chop the dates, and soak them in 5 tbsp water and baking soda for 30 minutes. Keep aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 150°C / 300°F. Grease and dust with flour an 8-inch square cake pan. Sift the flour and baking powder in a bowl.
  3. In a stand mixer, or with an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add in the eggs and beat well. Add the vanilla essence. Mix in the dates and walnuts to the flour mixture.
  4. Fold in the flour date mixture into the liquid mixture, mixing only until well combined.
  5. Bake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. I would suggest checking after 50 minutes, my cake is generally almost done after 50 min. Remove from the oven and leave in pan for 5 minutes, before unmolding it.
  6. Prick the cake slightly with a fork for the sauce to seep in.
Make the Toffee Sauce:
  1. Caramelize the sugar on medium heat, until just about brown (not too dark, but light golden. It will continue to caramelize when you add in the butter and cream, so don’t let it turn too dark).
  2. Quickly add the butter. Stir for a few seconds only, and then quickly add the cream (be careful as it will sputter a little). Stir as you pour to avoid lumps. Return to low heat.
  3. Stir for a few seconds until well blended, removing the lumps, if any. (My mom sometimes adds a little milk if she has too many lumps of sugar, stirring it until all the lumps are removed). Do not bring to a boil.
  4. Spread on the cake immediately to get an even coating of the sauce. Quickly top with the chopped walnuts.
  5. Yield: 1 (8-inch) square cake or an 8-inch loaf tin (preferable)
Recipe by The Novice Housewife at https://novicehousewife.com/2012/04/04/guest-post-for-the-heritage-cook-moms-date-cake/