Date and honey cake with coffee cream frosting

  • By Reshma Seetharam
  • Thursday, October 24, 2013 12:52pm
  • Life

This is a rich cake infused with the sweetness of dates and honey. The cake itself is not very sweet, but the icing makes up for it. A yummy coffee cream frosting and some chocolate chips top this cake, making it a mouthful of wholesome goodness!

What you need:

The recipe yields two 9-inch cakes or about 20 cupcakes. I made a 9 inch cake and 12 cupcakes.

40 fresh dates, (or 50 dry dates) soaked in warm water over night

6 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

3 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup honey

1 Tbsp instant coffee powder

Soak the dates overnight in 2 cups of hot water. You can also cook them in the microwave with 2 cups of hot water. In a blender, puree the mixture to a fine paste. You may use a sieve to filter them down to a finer consistency. Set aside.

Combine the wheat flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small cup, combine the coffee powder with a few teaspoons of hot water. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degree F.

Beat the eggs, oil and honey together for about 3 to 4 minutes on medium high until the mixture is light and fluffy. Using a spatula or a mixer on the lowest speed, add the flour mixture and date mixture into the egg. Add small amounts at a time, alternating between the flour and date puree. Once it’s all in, gently stir until combined. Pour in the coffee liquid and stir to combine.

Grease two 9-inch baking pans with butter, and dust them with flour. You can make cupcakes, if you prefer. I made a 9 inch cake and 12 date cupcakes. Bake them in a pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes. My cupcakes were done in about 22 minutes, the 9 inch cake took longer, about 28-30 minutes.

Use a tooth pick and poke it in the middle of the cake all the way through to check if the cake is done. If it comes out clean, its ready to take out of the oven. Call me weird, but I use a clean knitting needle or a long kebab skewer to check the cake. It’s longer and way safer than a toothpick. Let the cakes cool completely.

As for cupcakes, always take them out of the pans, and let them cool on a cooling rack. Leaving them in the pan to cool makes them shrink. I just put the cake in the fridge to cool while I make the frosting, that way the cake can be baked and frosted faster. Follow the link for the yummy coffee cream frosting. Enjoy!

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.