Best Date Cake Ever : A Must-Try Recipe

Welcome to the luxury of having a cuppa with this delicious date cake!

There is no doubt that the well-balanced sweetness and moist texture of this cake will win anyone's heart.

With all the tips and techniques given below, nothing can go wrong. So, let’s get ready to make this insanely delicious cake!

You'll need the following ingredients;

Ingredients	Amount
Margarine or spread	300g
Caster sugar	300g
Self-raising	300g
Eggs	5
Dates	300g
Tea bags	4
Salt pinches	5
Bicarbonate of soda	1 1/2tsp
Baking powder	1 1/2tsp
Lemon juice	5tbsp
Water to boil the dates

Chopped pumpkin preserve pieces and a handful of chopped dates to enhance the taste

I prefer to use these brands because they consistently meet the high standards for quality

Important facts:

• Traditionally, the dates are soaked overnight in a combination of hot water, plain tea bags, and bicarbonate of soda. To speed up the process, simply boil the dates for 5–10 minutes instead. Within just 5 minutes, the dates will soften and become pulpy, ready for you to whip up the cake.

  Interestingly, adding tea bags to the pan with the dates is purely to give the cake a tempting, dark-brown colour.

• You can use either self-raising flour or plain flour to make this cake. However, self-raising flour will give it a lighter, softer texture.

Let’s make it;

Step 1-

 Make the date pulp

• Remove the seeds and the stems from the dates and place them in a pan
• Fill a pan with water just above the dates
• Drop the teabags. Cover and boil until the water reduces to a minimum. Add bicarb and simmer 2mins
• Let the dates cool off completely
• Squeeze and remove the tea bags. Crush the dates with your hand
• Keep aside until needed

Boil the dates with tea bags

Let’s get on with making the cake now

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. You only need to preheat it for about 20 minutes, so you can switch the oven on halfway through preparing the batter.

Step 2-

Cream the batter swift

• Beat sugar and butter together for about 2 mins or until creamy using an electric hand mixer
• Add eggs one at a time, and beat for 15 seconds after each addition
• Now add the date pulp and beat for 1 min until everything comes into a thin batter
• Add lemon juice, vanilla, and salt
• Next,  mix baking powder with flour and sift it onto the batter
• Beat just a couple of rounds using the electric hand mixer until a thick batter is formed
• If you have pumpkin preserve chop them into tiny pieces and dust them with flour. Cut a handful of dates into pieces and dust that too with flour. Now drop both on
• to the batter and fold. 

Step 3 - 

Into the tray

• Line up a baking tray  with parchment paper and pour the batter in
• Lift  the tray up and gently drop it on the surface three times to let the air bubbles escape and the batter  to spread and settle evenly

Stick it in the Oven

• Place the tray in the middle of the bottom shelf of the oven
• Bake for  20  – 30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean when stabbed in the middle of the cake

Troubleshooting: If the cake is not baked enough in the middle but the top is browned, cover the cake with a parchment paper and bake the cake for 5-10mins more

• Take the cake out of the oven and let it rest for 5 mins

• Gently,  remove it from the tray and let it cool on a wire rack

• Dip a knife in hot water and wipe it clean when slicing the cake to cut dainty pieces

Tips:

• Always opt for the best quality wet dates for a flavourful cake
• Never open the oven door during the first 10mins of baking
• Also, do not bang the oven door shut as the cake could slump.  Close the oven door very gently
• Cover the cake with a cling film and store it in an air-tight container