“I eat cake because it is always someone’s birthday somewhere.”
Cake! Who doesn’t love cake? Well, I don’t.
Don’t take me to be a cold-hearted cook but your usual cakes are either full of such sugar rush that you can’t take more than one bite of it, or they have been soaked with a syrup that ultimately makes them soggy more than moist. Or worse, they are just made of pure chocolate – tooth aching, head spiraling, overload of chocolate without any taste or texture.
But also considering my love to keep eating, it’s pretty hard for me to stop at a single bite. So, I of course had to look for a healthy yet delicious alternative, and that’s when I found this recipe in the realms of the internet browsing and a rescue of leftover dates. While this is an eggless, sugarless, and butter-less cake, do not make the mistake of thinking it is tasteless. The dates, raisins and nuts more than make up for what you generally might want from the plain ol’ white sugar. And what’s more, you can customize it as you want – add in the nuts you like, make vegan or gluten-free versions or even a sauce to go with!
RECIPE
For 8 people to share, or 1 greedy person as a whole
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups (20 nos.) dates, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 2 cups milk, boiled
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup dates, roughly chopped
- ½ cup almonds, roughly chopped
- ½ cup raisins, roughly chopped
- A pinch of salt
METHOD
- Soak the two cups of dates in the hot milk for at least one hour to help make them soft. Then blend to a smooth paste.
- In a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients for the cake – flour, oil, salt, milk, baking powder, walnuts, dates, almonds, and raisins – leaving a few for the topping.
- Mix well and then add in the date puree. Once combined, place the left-over nuts, dates, and raisins on the top
- Pour the batter into a 6-inch cake pan, or pot of similar dimensions, which has been thoroughly smeared with oil.
- Bake in a 350F or 170C preheated oven for 30-45 minutes. Insert a toothpick or knife to check the doneness. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 15 minutes or till you see the sides coming away from the pan.
- Use a butter knife to scrape the edges and then turn it over into a plate, ready for you to slice and serve.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- To make the recipe vegan, just add soy/oat/almond milk instead of the dairy counterpart.
- You can also roast your nuts for an even more added flavor.
- While all-purpose flour (or maida) will work best for the cake, you can use wheat flour for a healthy substitution or almond flour for a gluten-free version.
- If required, you can add in some brown sugar to enhance the sweetness of the cake.
- You can also make a quick butterscotch sauce to go with the cake by heating up butter, sugar and cream.
