Date Cake Date And Walnut Cake

About Date Cake

Date cake is a favorite with us. No wonder, I make this on days when we crave for sweets or desserts that are healthy. This Date and Walnut Cake recipe is almost a decade old that I had posted many years back. I have been making this Date Cake for many years now. It simply never fails and you get the perfect date loaf every time. My recipe always impresses my family and friends. When I serve this delish cake to them, they keep on asking for more. The earlier recipe was made with a mix of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Later I switched to making the cake entirely with whole wheat flour changing some of the other ingredients proportions. And oh boy! I was so surprised to see the cake having a soft and moist crumb in spite of the whole wheat flour. So I have updated the recipe post to the date cake made entirely with whole wheat flour. This date and walnut cake is healthy as together with dates and walnuts it is made with whole wheat flour and almond milk. The cake recipe is apt to make for special days or festivals like Christmas or Easter, especially when you want to enjoy eating desserts that are not heavy on butter or cream frostings, refined flour and too much of fats like butter or oil. Even a novice in baking can make this cake and get full marks. Try this cake and you will be simply bowled over by its texture, flavor and taste.

Ingredients You Need

Flour: The entire recipe is made with whole wheat flour and works well with both the Indian wheat flour (atta) used for making roti and the milled whole wheat flour available outside India. You could easily swap the whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour, pastry flour or whole wheat pastry flour.Dates: Well of course since the cake has dates in it, it is loaded with the flavor and aroma of dates. Dates also makes the cake soft. Coffee: I also add instant coffee that pairs beautifully with the dates and add its own charm and flavor to the cake. Though you can chose to opt out of coffee. Walnuts: I love to add some walnuts in this recipe. But if you are out of walnuts, skip them. But they do add a lovely crunch to the soft cake. Chocolate Chips: You could also choose to add some chocolate chips or cacao nibs. Sometimes I do add these and I have mentioned the proportions in the recipe card below.Leavening Ingredients: Both baking powder and baking soda are required and cannot be substituted for each other. Since this is an eggless cake, I would suggest that you use both baking powder and baking soda that are fresh and in their shelf-life. Liquids: I make this cake with almond milk, but feel free to use your preferred milk to make the recipe. Earlier I have also made this recipe with homemade soy milk.

If you love baking with nuts and dry fruits, do check my Fruit Cake Recipe and Wine Cake.

How to make Date Cake

Prep and Make Date Walnut Mixture

1. Rinse and finely chop 100 grams or about 5 large or 8 to 9 medium-sized or 12 small dates and 4 to 5 walnuts (25 grams). Measure and you will need ½ cup finely chopped dates (tightly packed) and ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts. Grease a 7.5 to 8 inches round pan with oil (neutral flavored) or line it with a parchment paper. You can also use a loaf pan to make date loaf.
2. Heat 1 cup almond milk (or choice of milk) in a pan or steel bowl. Do not boil. The milk should only be hot.
3. Switch off heat and place the pan or bowl on the kitchen countertop. Add instant coffee.
4. Add the finely chopped dates and walnuts.
5. Mix very well to make an even mixture.
6. Add ½ cup raw sugar. You can also add ½ cup white sugar or add it according to the sweetness you prefer in the cake.
7. Mix thoroughly until the sugar granules dissolves. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Make Cake Batter

8. Place a wired mesh sieve over the bowl and ddd the following dry ingredients to it.

1.5 cups whole wheat flour – 180 grams1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda1 pinch salt

Sift the dry ingredients directly over the bowl ensuring the sifted ingredients fall into the bowl. 9. Pour all of the the cooled dates and milk mixture to the sifted dry ingredients in the bowl. 10. Add ¼ cup of sunflower oil (or any neutral tasting oil), ¼ cup water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence.  11. Mix with a wired whisk or you can also choose to fold the batter.  Mix to an even batter but take care not to overdo the mixing or folding. Over-mixing can cause gluten strands to develop in the batter and will result in a doughy dense texture. 12. Pour in the greased or parchment lined pan. Tap the pan with the batter in it on the countertop a few times so that the batter spreads on its own. 

Bake Date Cake

13. Bake at 190 degrees C/392 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. Preheat oven at 190 degrees C/392 degrees F for 15 minutes. It took me 40 minutes to bake in my oven. Note that temperatures vary from oven to oven. It can take less or more time for the cake to bake in your oven. 
14. Check the baked date cake with bamboo skewer. The skewer should come out clean with no sticky batter on it.
15. Cool cake pan on wired rack.
16. Slice and serve when cooled. You can also refrigerate the date cake for about a week. Store the cake in an air-tight container in the fridge. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Moist Eggless Chocolate Cake Recipe Easy Banana Cake Recipe (Eggless, Vegan & Whole Wheat) Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe (Soft and Moist) Plum Cake Recipe (No Eggs, No Alcohol, Whole Wheat) This Date Cake recipe post from the blog archives first published in March 2013 has been republished and updated on Jun 2022.

title: “Date Cake Date And Walnut Cake " ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-28” author: “Carla Lejeune”

About Date Cake

Date cake is a favorite with us. No wonder, I make this on days when we crave for sweets or desserts that are healthy. This Date and Walnut Cake recipe is almost a decade old that I had posted many years back. I have been making this Date Cake for many years now. It simply never fails and you get the perfect date loaf every time. My recipe always impresses my family and friends. When I serve this delish cake to them, they keep on asking for more. The earlier recipe was made with a mix of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Later I switched to making the cake entirely with whole wheat flour changing some of the other ingredients proportions. And oh boy! I was so surprised to see the cake having a soft and moist crumb in spite of the whole wheat flour. So I have updated the recipe post to the date cake made entirely with whole wheat flour. This date and walnut cake is healthy as together with dates and walnuts it is made with whole wheat flour and almond milk. The cake recipe is apt to make for special days or festivals like Christmas or Easter, especially when you want to enjoy eating desserts that are not heavy on butter or cream frostings, refined flour and too much of fats like butter or oil. Even a novice in baking can make this cake and get full marks. Try this cake and you will be simply bowled over by its texture, flavor and taste.

Ingredients You Need

Flour: The entire recipe is made with whole wheat flour and works well with both the Indian wheat flour (atta) used for making roti and the milled whole wheat flour available outside India. You could easily swap the whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour, pastry flour or whole wheat pastry flour.Dates: Well of course since the cake has dates in it, it is loaded with the flavor and aroma of dates. Dates also makes the cake soft. Coffee: I also add instant coffee that pairs beautifully with the dates and add its own charm and flavor to the cake. Though you can chose to opt out of coffee. Walnuts: I love to add some walnuts in this recipe. But if you are out of walnuts, skip them. But they do add a lovely crunch to the soft cake. Chocolate Chips: You could also choose to add some chocolate chips or cacao nibs. Sometimes I do add these and I have mentioned the proportions in the recipe card below.Leavening Ingredients: Both baking powder and baking soda are required and cannot be substituted for each other. Since this is an eggless cake, I would suggest that you use both baking powder and baking soda that are fresh and in their shelf-life. Liquids: I make this cake with almond milk, but feel free to use your preferred milk to make the recipe. Earlier I have also made this recipe with homemade soy milk.

If you love baking with nuts and dry fruits, do check my Fruit Cake Recipe and Wine Cake.

How to make Date Cake

Prep and Make Date Walnut Mixture

1. Rinse and finely chop 100 grams or about 5 large or 8 to 9 medium-sized or 12 small dates and 4 to 5 walnuts (25 grams). Measure and you will need ½ cup finely chopped dates (tightly packed) and ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts. Grease a 7.5 to 8 inches round pan with oil (neutral flavored) or line it with a parchment paper. You can also use a loaf pan to make date loaf.
2. Heat 1 cup almond milk (or choice of milk) in a pan or steel bowl. Do not boil. The milk should only be hot.
3. Switch off heat and place the pan or bowl on the kitchen countertop. Add instant coffee.
4. Add the finely chopped dates and walnuts.
5. Mix very well to make an even mixture.
6. Add ½ cup raw sugar. You can also add ½ cup white sugar or add it according to the sweetness you prefer in the cake.
7. Mix thoroughly until the sugar granules dissolves. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Make Cake Batter

8. Place a wired mesh sieve over the bowl and ddd the following dry ingredients to it.

1.5 cups whole wheat flour – 180 grams1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda1 pinch salt

Sift the dry ingredients directly over the bowl ensuring the sifted ingredients fall into the bowl. 9. Pour all of the the cooled dates and milk mixture to the sifted dry ingredients in the bowl. 10. Add ¼ cup of sunflower oil (or any neutral tasting oil), ¼ cup water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence.  11. Mix with a wired whisk or you can also choose to fold the batter.  Mix to an even batter but take care not to overdo the mixing or folding. Over-mixing can cause gluten strands to develop in the batter and will result in a doughy dense texture. 12. Pour in the greased or parchment lined pan. Tap the pan with the batter in it on the countertop a few times so that the batter spreads on its own. 

Bake Date Cake

13. Bake at 190 degrees C/392 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. Preheat oven at 190 degrees C/392 degrees F for 15 minutes. It took me 40 minutes to bake in my oven. Note that temperatures vary from oven to oven. It can take less or more time for the cake to bake in your oven. 
14. Check the baked date cake with bamboo skewer. The skewer should come out clean with no sticky batter on it.
15. Cool cake pan on wired rack.
16. Slice and serve when cooled. You can also refrigerate the date cake for about a week. Store the cake in an air-tight container in the fridge. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Moist Eggless Chocolate Cake Recipe Easy Banana Cake Recipe (Eggless, Vegan & Whole Wheat) Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe (Soft and Moist) Plum Cake Recipe (No Eggs, No Alcohol, Whole Wheat) This Date Cake recipe post from the blog archives first published in March 2013 has been republished and updated on Jun 2022.