This date cake is special because it's only sweetened with date fruit. This vegan date cake is sweetened without refined sugars or sweeteners. It's simply made from pitted dates, flour, water and walnuts and a pinch of leavening agent.
Ingredients:
- 19 to 24 (260-320g) pitted dates (I used medjool, you may use other date varities)
- 1 1/4 cup spring water
- 1/2 cup grape-seed oil (or avocado oil)
- 1 cup (125g) spelt flour (i.e. or kamut/khorasan wheat flour, use teff flour or ivory teff to make it gluten-free)
- 1/3 cup walnuts + 2 Tbsp. walnuts (to make walnut milk)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Equipment:
- food processor or blender (unless vegan milk is already prepared)
- sifter
- bowl
- medium size loaf pan or standard 8x8 cake pan (I used an 8 inches Length, x 3.88 in Width, and x2.47 in Height loaf pan)
- aluminum paper (to avoid burning the top)
Method:
*If you have a food processor just blend the dates to cream together with the milk and skip to step 5.
- Pre-heat oven to 350F
- Heat water until it begins to simmer.
- Place water into blend with 2 Tbsp. walnuts to make walnut milk.
- Soak dates in walnut milk to soften (2-3 hours).
- Blend or food process the dates with milk until it becomes a paste like substance.
- Place in a bowl and add oil to the paste blend
- In a separate bowl, combine 1/3 cup walnuts with 1 Tbsp. of flour (from the 1 cup required) and set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder) to the wet ingredients and mix gently.
- Fold in the walnut/flour mix.
- Lightly coat the baking pan with oil and dust on flour (or use parchment paper)
- Pour in the cake batter into the baking pan
- Bake for 35-40 minutes total (place aluminum foil at about the 25-30 min mark to avoid burning the top)
- Cake is done in 35-40 min or until a toothpick is pierced and shows clean.
