Date Walnut Cake with apple compôte
Varsha’s date and walnut cake is sweet and perfectly spiced with warm aromatics. Rich and moist, dates naturally sweeten the cake so that less sugar is needed. Walnuts add texture while orange essence adds an extra dimension of flavour.
Varsha tops off the cake with a yummy apple compôte which can be used to top ice-cream or any other type of cake.
Yields: 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup or 6 ounces unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons orange essence
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup chopped walnuts
8 ounces dates, chopped
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
For apple compôte
1 pound granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced.
¼ cup unsweetened orange juice
2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons brown sugar*
1 tablespoon cinnamon
*Add more sugar if you’d like your compôte to be sweeter.
DIRECTIONS
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch pan or 9-inch round pan; set aside.
2 In a small bowl, add chopped dates, boiling water and baking soda. Let soak for 15 minutes or until mixture cools completely.
3 In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients. Mix and set aside.
4 In the meanwhile, using a hand or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow.
5 Then, add eggs and orange essence. Mix until combined.
6 Slowly, add dates together with the liquid mixture.
7 Add dry ingredients in three parts, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
8 After everything is fully combined, fold in walnuts.
9 Spread batter evenly in pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
10 For the apple compôte, add all ingredients to a medium pot. Let simmer until apples become soft.
11 Let compôte cool and top your cake with a generous amount.
by Varsha Mahabir