Spiced Date Cake

• Dates are lovely in cakes, they have a rich sweetness.
• This is a very easy cake to make – you just have to start it the night before.
• The way the dates are cooked first is similar to the method in my mother’s date slices.

Ingredients

• 175g of pitted dates
• Fine grated rind of 1 orange
• 3 tablespoons of boiling water
• 4 tablespoons of orange juice
• *
• 175g soft brown sugar
• 175g butter
• 3 eggs
• 200g plain flour
• 2½ teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger

Method

• Chop the dates into small pieces.
• Place them in a bowl with the grated orange rind.
• Add the boiling water and the orange juice.
• Leave overnight.
• *
• Pre-heat the oven to GM 3 – 160°C.
• Use a cake liner in a deep 20cm cake tin.
• Cream the sugar and butter.
• Add the eggs and continue to mix.
• Mix in the soaked dates.
• Mix the flour well with the baking powder, mixed spice and ground.
• Fold the flour mixture into the cake mixture.
• Spoon into the cake mixture into the baking tin.
• Bake for 60-65 minutes.
• Leave to cool in the tin.

Served on Tea plates – Burleigh Ware – Burgess & Leigh Ltd – Blue Mist from the 1930s