A recipe I started making for my Muslim friends for when they celebrate Eid, and I was able to share with my Sikh grandmother who is vegetarian and doesn't eat eggs. I got the original recipe from an Indian cooking blog, but modified it to the recipe I currently use below. Now it's my most requested cake no matter what the occasion! Delicious on its own, with a cup of tea, or warmed up and topped with vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients
- milk: 0.75 cup
- dates, pitted and left whole: 18 piece
- brown sugar: 0.5 cup
- vegetable oil: 0.5 cup
- vanilla extract: 1 tsp (optional)
- all-purpose flour: 1 cup
- baking soda: 1 tsp
- ground cinnamon: 1 tsp (optional)
- walnuts: 0.25 cup (chopped, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Heat milk in a saucepan until almost boiling and stir in dates; let soak for several hours, refrigerated. For best flavor, refrigerate dates and milk overnight.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a medium loaf pan.
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Transfer milk and dates to food processor, add brown sugar, and process into a smooth paste. Mix in vegetable oil and vanilla extract with a few pulses.
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Whisk flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Pulse flour mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, into the date paste until batter is smooth; do not overmix. Stir walnuts into batter with a fork and transfer to the prepared loaf pan.
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Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
