Easy Moist Date Cake

You will love this Easy Moist Date Cake if you are a fan of sticky toffee pudding! It is moist and fluffy and has a deep caramel flavor thanks to the brown sugar. Warm spices such as cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon add sweet, spicy notes to the cake. Oh, and let's not forget the pecans, which take this cake to the next level and add some crunch.

My uncle always sends a pack of fresh dates from the Middle East to my house during Ramadan, and I always get excited and make as many date recipes as I can think of. The first thing that came to mind was these Chocolate Date Sweets because they are really easy to make and are a great energy-boosting snack. Then, I thought of this date cake because dates can be pureed to make an amazing natural sweetener.

With this recipe, I converted many date skeptics, so I am sure this sticky date cake will become your new favorite pudding! You may also enjoy this Baked Baklava Cheesecake and Easy Moist Ginger Cake.

Why You Should Try This Recipe

• This date cake is great if you have leftover dates and have no idea what to do with them.
• The flavors in this easy moist date cake are rich and indulgent.
• It is easy to make.
• The date cake ingredients are easy to find.
• It is budget-friendly.

Easy Moist Date Cake Ingredients

• Dates: If the dates are not already pitted, slice them and remove the seeds because the seeds should not be baked or pureed.
• Boiling water: Make sure the water is boiling because it will be used to soften the dates.
• Baking soda: This helps to break down the dates, makes them rise and prevents them from sinking to the bottom when they are baked.
• Unsalted butter: Use room-temperature unsalted butter.
• Brown sugar: Use brown sugar for this recipe because it adds a sweet caramel-like flavor to the cake.
• Eggs: Must be at room temperature to ensure they mix well with the other ingredients. Cold eggs can result in the cake batter splitting and affect the texture. If the eggs are cold, put them in a bowl of warm water for about 7-8 minutes and they should come to room temperature faster.
• All-purpose flour: Sift the flour to remove lumps and excess dirt.
• Cloves: Add ground cloves to add sweet, spicy notes to the cake.
• Nutmeg: Grate a whole nutmeg or use ground nutmeg.
• Cinnamon: Use ground cinnamon.
• Salt: This balances out the sweetness of the cake.
• Baking powder: To help the date dessert rise.
• Pecans: Roughly chop them to add some crunch.

For Serving

• Caramel sauce: I like to use readymade caramel sauce because it is quicker but you can also make it yourself.
• Heavy cream: Add a few tablespoons of heavy cream to the caramel sauce when heating it on the stove.

Tips and Substitutions

• Dry ingredients: Sift the baking powder, baking soda, all-purpose flour, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon before preparing the cake batter. This will ensure that the cake batter has the ideal consistency.
• Wet ingredients: The wet ingredients should be at room temperature for easy mixing. Using cold ingredients can also cause the cake batter to split.
• Weighing scale: I always use a weighing scale when baking because it is the way to guarantee that your ingredient measurements are accurate and avoid pitfalls.
• Baking tin: I made this cake in a circular tin, but you can also make it in a tray or loaf tin instead.

How to Make Sticky Date Cake

1. Preheat oven to 175C or 350F. Then lightly grease a 7” baking tin with oil or butter and line it with parchment paper. Set aside for later.
2. Combine 180g of all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon cloves, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Start by using a knife to remove the seeds from each date. Then soak 225g of dates in 1 cup of boiling water and add 1 teaspoon of baking soda for ten minutes. This will soften the dates.

4. Meanwhile, add 100g of room-temperature unsalted butter to a bowl. Whisk for one minute. Then add 100g of brown sugar to the butter and whisk for 3-5 minutes or until fluffy.

5. Pour two eggs into the creamed butter and whisk until the egg disappears.

6. Next, use a masher or blender to puree the dates into a smooth paste.

7. Then, pour the date puree into the egg mixture and whisk for 2 minutes or until combined.

8. Add ⅓ of the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Repeat this step with the remaining dry ingredients. 

9. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined cake tin.

10. Then add 1 cup of chopped pecans on top of the cake and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

11. Serve this easy moist date cake plain or with caramel sauce and ice cream. Read the recipe card for more details about the caramel sauce.

Recipe Variations

Make a healthy date cake! I have made this exact recipe with the same ingredient measurements without sugar and it came out great because the date puree acts as a natural sweetener.

I topped this date cake with caramel sauce but feel free to swap this with toffee sauce instead.

If you do not have pecans on hand, you can swap them for walnuts or omit them altogether if you have allergies or prefer a plain cake.

Recipe FAQs