Sticky Date and Coconut Cake
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg replacer (1 tablespoon ground flax whisked with 3 tablespoons warm water)
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup shaved unsweetened coconut
3 tablespoons vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
2 teaspoons nondairy milk (I like to use coconut milk)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine dates through pinch salt in small saucepan, bring to boil. Remove from heat, let stand 10 minutes. Dates will become tender. Grease a 9" round pan, pie pan, or springform pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Stir in all of date mixture, sugar, vanilla, and egg replacer until well mixed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. For topping, combine brown sugar, coconut, 3 tablespoons vegan butter, and nondairy milk in the small saucepan (reuse the first one). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 1 minute.
4. Pour brown sugar mixture over cake, bake an additional 13-15 minutes. Toothpick will come out clean when inserted in center. Cool, eat, and enjoy!
I absolutely love this recipe--it's so rich and filling. I like to make it for the holidays. It's sweet, but it does feel like you're getting some substance and nutrients from the dates, coconut, and whole wheat flour. It's sort of pudding-like and thick and sticky. The topping reminds me of the icing for a German chocolate cake--which makes me wonder if you could make the base of this cake chocolate, too. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!
Source of recipe: This was a Cooking Light recipe that I fell in love with, and I later veganized it so I continue enjoying it.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Absolutely scrumptious! Super easy to make, but very impressive looking cake. Thank you for such an incredible recipe :)>>>
this sounds like a great cake. will be trying it soon. two things though-you do not mention when to use the water-i assume it is with the dates at the beginning; and you do not mention when to add the baking soda-i assume it is with the dry ingredients. thanks.
Hey, having made the cake I can answer your Q's: yup, chop up the 1 cup worth of dates and heat in a small pan with water as directed. I also stirred the dates once they'd sat long enough so they absorb the water and smooth into the recipe. And just mix the baking soda in with all the dry ingredients. Cakes work great with a "wets mixed together/drys mixed together then everyone together!"
have fun!
this sounds like a great cake. will be trying it soon. two things though-you do not mention when to use the water-i assume it is with the dates at the beginning; and you do not mention when to add the baking soda-i assume it is with the dry ingredients. thanks.
Gosh guys, I can't believe I hadn't caught this error when looking over this recipe (and even using it straight from the internet)--shows that you read what you THINK you wrote!
The dates quantity should be 1 CUP!!!
I'm so sorry if this has messed anyone up. I can't believe I've overlooked that typo so many times.
I love to hear that everyone so far is enjoying it, even with this huge oversight on my part. I love hearing about everyone's modifications.
I can't believe I forgot to review this!! It was SO good! I made it right before running off to work (which happens to be a lovely little organic cafe with vegan/veg and GF options). So I whipped it out of the oven, threw the pan on a cutting board and carried it to work. I cut into it still warm to share with my co-workers and a couple of regulars and everyone LOVED it.
I'm making it again this afternoon! I am going to try to replace the EB in the cake with apple sauce and the EB in the topping with oil (since I don't have any EB and my oil is low). I'm also going to add some cinnamon and maybe a hint of allspice. YUM!
I made this cake as a birthday gift and made a few tweaks: I used chick pea flour to make it gluten free. I used about a teaspoon of cinnamon and a 1/4 cup of shaved coconut to the cake itself to add thickness. I also used coconut oil instead of earth balance (same calories, more of a whole food). I also used sucanat instead of sugar, and for the icing I reduced the sucanat to 1/2 cup and only 1 tablespoon of oil and added a few squares of 100% bakers chocolate....sooooo good! So simple. I will be making this again and again! ;)b
THIS CAKE IS DELICIOUS.
OMG, seriously, it is easy to make and easier to eat.
I added half a cup of coconut flour and 1/4 cup shredded coconut in the batter as well. Turned out extra coconutty!
Thank you!! :)
:)>>> :)>>> :)>>>
This is the most amazing moist cake ever! It was my first vegan cake and I'm in love, thank you so much for posting this!
This cake was sooo delicious! I had to hide a piece to take to lunch the next day or it would have been devoured. I cut way back on the sugar substituting the 1 cup sugar for 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup honey. I also used less brown sugar on the topping and it was still plenty sweet enough, probably because of the dates. The cake was so moist and delicious. Put on a pot of coffee and enjoy. Thanks for sharing. My family will enjoy for years to come.
The soft juicy cake and the crunchy top makes a nice contrast. It is indeed a rich and yummy holiday cake. The taste is already quite complete, but I think I will try it with a very small amount (maybe 1/2 tsp cinnamon next time).
Baking time in my regular gas oven took much longer... maybe the baking time is given for an electric circulation oven. So even after thirty minutes the date-mixture was way to liquid to put the topping on it.