Sticky Date Cake
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Serves: 16 + pieces
 

Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE
  • 500g dried dates
  • 540g filtered water
  • 2-1/2 tsp bicarb soda
  • 150g butter, cubed
  • 425g dark muscovado sugar (or dark brown sugar)
  • 5 x 59g large eggs
  • 370g self raising flour
  • 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
INGREDIENTS FOR CARAMEL ICING
  • 160g light brown muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 80g full fat cream
  • 120g butter, chopped
  • 125g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
  • 420g icing sugar
Instructions
METHOD FOR CAKE
  1. Place 250g of dates into TM bowl and chop 4 seconds / speed 7
  2. Put dates into a pot and repeat with the other 250g so you now have 500g dates in the pot
  3. Add water and bicarb soda to the pot
  4. Bring to the boil stirring lightly, and as soon as the mix bubbles take pan off the heat and add the butter and stir until the butter is melted
  5. Set a timer for 30 minutes and prepare the rest of the cake ingredients
  6. Heat oven to 150 degrees fan forced and place rack into middle
  7. Line 24cm round cake tin (base measurement) with baking paper, and place onto baking tray
  8. Put sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla essence into a large bowl and mix together (it will be clumpy but will smooth out when you add the date mixture)
  9. When the date mixture has cooled for 30 minutes, add to sugar mix and lightly stir through … I do this with a large whisk (do not beat) as I find it helps to incorporate the ingredients together, but use a large spatula or spoon if you prefer
  10. Pour mixture into cake tin, even surface with your spatula and bake 1 hour and 30 minutes
  11. Test with a skewer and if necessary add another 10 minutes (sometimes I have to cook it for another 10 minutes so use your own judgment on this)
  12. Let the cake rest for 15 minutes, and then turn out onto a cake rack to cool
METHOD FOR ICING
  1. Place sugar, cream, butter and chocolate into TM bowl and cook 4 minutes / 50 degrees / speed 2
  2. Stir mix around and repeat another 1 minute / 50 degrees / speed 2
  3. Add icing sugar and mix 10 seconds / speed 3
  4. Stir mix around and repeat 10 seconds / speed 3
  5. Stir mix around and repeat a third time 10 seconds / speed 3 so the mixture is well combined
  6. Place into a sealed container until ready to ice the cake
  7. NB: If made a day ahead place into the fridge overnight, then take out the next morning to bring to room temperature before using ... you will also need to stir the icing to loosen it up before using
  8. There is enough icing to spread over cake with a little left over for other uses
  9. Icing can be frozen
Notes
Adapted from a recipe by Bill Granger called Icky Sticky Pudding

This is a large cake and is perfect for celebrations when you have a crowd as you can easily cut thin slices to make it go further … it also keeps well for a few days which is an added bonus.

I use the Thermomix to chop the dates and make the icing, but as the cake is so easy to put together, and I don’t want to overbeat it, I do the rest by hand.

Always check your dates for pips before chopping by bending them in half as you put them into the TM bowl … so if there is a pip in one you will pick it up immediately … when using 500g of dates I have always found at least one pip. If you don’t check for pips the Thermomix will chop them and you will have hard little pieces throughout the cake … not nice after all your wonderful work.

You can make the icing whilst the cake is baking, but I always make my icings the day before and leave to "settle" overnight in the fridge ... if you do this take it out of the fridge the morning of the next day when you make the cake. You will need to stir it around to loosen it up before using it to spread over the cake.

Once I have iced the cake I usually decorate it simply with small pieces of chopped dates (for nut free) or small slices of lightly toasted pecan nuts depending on what I have on hand.
Recipe by The Passionate Pantry at https://www.thepassionatepantry.com.au/sticky-date-cake/