Date and Walnut Cake

The natural sweetness of dates along with a walnut studded crumb makes this eggless date and walnut cake a slice of heaven. It’s moist, flavorsome and also healthy-ish!

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I often get asked for sugarfree recipes. Honestly, I’m just the kind of baker who prefers to eat a smaller slice of a well-made cake than making something with too many healthy ingredients that doesn’t taste good. However, when it comes to substitutes to make a slightly healthier version of baked goods without compromising the taste, I’m all for it!

This eggless date and walnut cake is one such recipe that you can make as healthy as you like and thus is perfect for all sudden cravings, a quick coffee break or even as a school or office tiffin snack.

It’s a super moist cake that stays good for a few days and is loaded with the goodness of dates and walnuts. The rest of the ingredients are really simple kitchen staples and although I’ve used all-purpose flour and a little sugar in the recipe, you can easily alter it to suit your taste and dietary requirements.

Flour

Whole-wheat flour can be used in place of the all-purpose flour in a 1:1 ratio. However, if using whole-wheat, you may need just about 2-4 tsp of extra milk to keep the moistness intact. Although I haven’t tried it, I think even a little bit of oats flour or ragi flour may work well. If you give it a try, do let me know!

Dates and Nuts

I used seedless Mejdool dates for this recipe. You could also use another variety. However since the sweetness of dates depends on the quality, you may need to adjust the sugar in the recipe. Also, dates and walnuts make a great combination, however, you can switch up the walnuts with almonds or hazelnuts if you wish to.

Sugar

Dates are naturally quite sweet so the cake gets most of its sweetness from them, however I added just a little more sugar to give it better structure and it wasn’t oversweet for us. You can reduce or omit the sugar completely if you like, or even substitute with jaggery powder.

Frosting

This cake is perfect by itself and pairs beautifully with tea/coffee or even a glass of wine and doesn’t need any frosting. But if you want to dress it up, you could use a frosting of your choice – from cream cheese to whipped cream or even a simple glaze. For times when I skip the sugar, I like to add a little drizzle of honey while serving.

To make the eggless date and walnut cake

You start by soaking half of the dates in half a cup of hot milk. Leave this aside for an hour so the dates soften and then blend the dates and milk together into a paste. You could use a blender or food processor. If a few small pieces of dates remain, that’s okay too. Transfer the paste to a large bowl that you’ll be using to make the batter.

Sieve together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix. Throw in the remaining dates and half of the walnuts and toss all together. This helps the dates and walnuts to not sink to the bottom of the batter during baking. Keep this aside.

In the same bowl as the dates paste, add the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, oil, and sugar, and whisk it really really well. This is important to create a sort of emulsion and to ensure the cake doesn’t turn out oily after baking. You could beat by hand or use a hand beater. After mixing it well, add the dry mix and now mix gently and just enough to combine all the ingredients together. After adding the flour in, you should not mix a cake batter too much or too hard.

You should have a batter that is thick but also pourable. If it is almost paste like or too thick, you could add 1-2 tbsp of milk more. You will need to do this if using whole-wheat flour in the recipe.

Transfer the batter to a lined or greased 6 inch pan. Even it out using a spoon or spatula. Don’t tap the pan or the nuts will fall right to the bottom of the batter. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top and bake at 180 degree C for 35-40 minutes or untill a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve it as it is, or with a topping of honey or maple syrup. The eggless dates and walnut cake can be stored in an airtight container for 5-6 days if you can keep it that long!

Did you try this recipe? Leave me a comment here telling me your experience. Follow me on Instagram for more quick and healthy recipes. Happy Baking!

If you liked this eggless date and walnut cake, here are some other recipes from the blog you may like –

• Fudgy Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
• Banana Walnut Bread
• Orange Almond cake
• Lemon Loaf Cake