So, I'm back after a long while of not posting anything. Life got in the way, although I didn't stop the cooking and the experimenting, I stopped making time for posting everything here. But now I've rediscovered my passion of exploring food and various cuisines, and I feel like taking this up again. Let the journey continue, and thanks to the friends who still check this from time to time. :)
There are two reasons you should make this cake. The practical one is that nobody really likes dried up dates that are no longer moist. Instead of eating them and not enjoying the experience (thus making it not worth the calories) or worse throwing them away, this kind of cake transforms aged dried-up dates into a smooth puree and a lovely, moist and sweet cake.
The second reason is that the cake itself is spectacular. The date base is also infused with spices and rum and some faint chocolate hint, while the top is a show-stopper roasted almonds (they bake together with the cake) and creamy caramel sauce. Don't just make this to save the dates. Make it because it's fabulous :).
Recipe adapted from here.
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Five years ago: Peanut butter marbled brownies + 3 year blog anniversary.
Six years ago: Cocoa macarons with chocolate cream cheese filling + 2 year blog anniversary.
Seven years ago: Classic chocolate cream pie (American) + 1 year blog anniversary.
Eight years ago: Complete meal salad with basil and Simple fried bananas with cinnamon and honey (Central and South American).
Ingredients (for a 23 cm round tin):
- 225 g pitted dry dates
- 1 cup of hot milk (200-250 ml)
- 85 g butter
- 170 g sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon rum
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and/or ginger
- 170 g flour
- 2 tablespoons yogurt
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dark chocolate
- 1 handful blanched almonds
For the topping:
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g liquid cream (30% fat)
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line the round cake tin (23 cm or 9 inch diameter) with baking paper. Put the dates in a bowl and pour the hot milk over them.
Let them soak it up for 10-15 minutes. Then, puree the drained dates in a blender, adding a bit of the milk they soaked it if things get too dry (1-2 tablespoons at a time). I ended up using about half of the left-over milk. (The rest is really great to drink, by the way). Transfer the date puree to a bowl.
Mix the butter with the sugar, eggs and rum until smooth and even. Add the date puree. Add the flour, yogurt and spices and mix again until even. Add the grated chocolate as a final touch:
Mix gently, then add the resulting cake batter into the prepared tin. Top with the almonds, gently pushing them half in so they don't fall off the cake when it's done.
Put the cake in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the sugar (don't add any water) in a small pot over medium heat. Stir and heat until it melts and it catches a caramel color. Immediately pour in the cream and stir well (careful with the drops that might splash around, caramel is really hot!):
Turn off the heat and leave it aside. When the cake is done, take it out of the oven and allow it to cool a bit:
Spread the sauce over the cake as even as possible:
Let the whole thing harden up (at least one hour; if you cut the cake while the sauce is still runny you will most likely loose a bit of it). You will notice a crust forming on the sauce when it's done:
Slice and dig in! :)
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