going on a date
Well, not quite.
On our drive up north yesterday we came across these laden date palms.
Like these yellow dates …
…. and there are the red dates ….
They where shining in the sun. You could see them from a mile away.
Everybody who knows me, knows that I start seeing cakes, when I pass a sight like this. Here in Lebanon people do not bake much with fruits. They are eaten either fresh, dried or conserved in sugar ….
…. stuffed and dipped in chocolate and rolled in all sorts of things, like these beauties from AlBaba in Saida.
So, if I want a cake I have to get cooking myself. Here is my favorite cake with dates.
Glazed Almond Date Cake
Ingredients for cake:
225 g Dry dates (without stone)
250 ml Water
30 g Butter (at room temperature)
110 g Granulated sugar
2 pc Eggs
200 g All purpose flour
12 g Baking soda
12 g Baking powder
70 g Brown almonds whole ground
25 g Candied Orange Peel
Ingredients for glaze:
180 ml Fresh orange juice
75 g Granulated sugar
100 g Dry dates (without stone)
100 g Skinless almonds halves
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180 C
Butter a 22 cm cake spring-form and dust with flour
Chop the dates into quarters and place into a bowl
Bring the water to a boil and pour over the dates
Set aside to cool
Mix the softened butter with the sugar and beat using a hand mixer
Add the eggs and continue beating until mixture is smooth and creamy
Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
Grind the almonds finely and add to the flour
Chop the orange peel into small cubes
Add the butter mixture to the completely cooled date mixture
Add the chopped orange peel and fold in the flour
Pour this mixture into your buttered and floured spring-form
Bake at 180 C for about 35 min
Test with a toothpick to make sure cake is cooked, but do not over bake
Glaze:
Bring the orange juice and sugar to a boil
Cut the dates into halves and add to the hot orange juice
On the still hot cake arrange the date halves and pour the hot juice over the cake
Decorate with the almonds halves
Let cool completely
Take out of the cake ring and display on your favorite cake plate.
