Eggless Date and Walnut Cake/Loaf ...Low Fat and Healthy!!!

Dear All,

The moment I think about dates (khajoor) the first thing that comes to my mind is Pani Puri and the second is this Date and Walnut Cake. This cake is not light but quite dense , not too sweet and perfect combination with some tea or coffee. This recipe is inspired from Eggless Date Cake which I had bookmarked ages ago from Shilpa's site, this cake has almost 100% success rates and by the popularity of this cake I had to try it soon. The adventure began when I saw a packet of seedless dates in my fridge. Being Anaemic I was advised to have black dates regularly due the high iron content in them. I have dates as a meal filler in between my meals, they are extremely rich and fulfilling, so next time you have craving to have something sweet go and buy yourself a packet of dates!  Lets stay healthy!

Original Recipe Source: Shilpa from Aayi's Recipes
Ingredients:
25-26 seedless dates
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar (You can increase/reduce depending upon the sweetness of your dates)
1 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
3 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/4 cups of finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of finely chopped dates

Procedure:-

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C, grease and flour a loaf tin.
• Soak dates in warm milk for about half an hour until they become little soft and mushy to touch
• Add sugar and grind them into smooth paste along with the milk in which the dates were soaked.
• Add oil and mix. 
• Sieve the flour and baking soda together. 
• Add flour one tablespoon at a time and mix well after each addition.
• Add the finely chopped walnuts and dates and mix well.
• Grate few walnuts on top of the cake and bake it for 40 to 45 mins until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Verdict? The cake is quite dense in nature due the dates puree used, the texture i got was quite fudgy in nature! The color of the cake highly depends upon the type of the dates you have used and varies accordingly. So if you cake is darker in color than donot worry , it does not mean the cake was burnt :)

For best result always use fresh dates and seedless ones which will speed up the process of baking as well. You can also use all whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour to make it even more healthy! Hope you enjoyed this cake. Until next time, take care!

Rich Christmas Fruit Cake for a new beginning

Dear All,

Wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year !!!

Christmas and New Year's Eve are definately not complete with a fruit cake. We know its christmas when the market is floaded with various types of fruit and dundee cakes, christmas trees and decorations. We dont really celebrate christmas but i love the season as it gives me a reason to bake! This was the first time I  made a fruit cake at home and definately not the last. I followed Raaga's recipe as a base and I absolutely loved the results! Cake turned out to be rich, moist and full of flavors!

I totally agree with Divya that the recipe is a keeper! I loved it for its simplicity and hassle free making. I didnt even dust the soaked dry fruits with flour but still the dry fruits got distributed evenly in the cake batter without sinking to the bottom. I used a combination of orange juice and rum for soaking my dry fruits as i wasnt keen on using only rum as this was the first time I was using alcohol in my cooking.

A very interested incident happened when i set out to buy Rum for my fruit cake. Here in india it is not very common to use Rum or Wine in cooking nor its common to find a girl standing in a liquor shop buying Rum!!! This was the first time i ever visited a liquor shop in my whole life. It was 31st dec, new years eve and the liquor shop was jam packed with men, as soon as i entered the shop all heads turned around in my direction as if they saw a ghost! Ignoring all glares i asked the person at the counter for some cooking rum, i must say the expression on his face was somewhere between shocked  and confused. Below is the conversation I had in 5 to 7 mins i spent in the liquor store, I hope you enjoy reading it :-)

Me: Can i get some cooking Rum pls? (trying to sound at ease)
He: Cooking...errrr what? (Confused)
Me: Rum...which can be used in cooking and baking...(flashing a smile)
He: (even more confused) Just a moment , I will be back.
(He went and consulted the owner of the shop , who looked like a stuffed teddy bear in denim jeans and a shirt which was specially stiched to fit him)
Owner: Yes how can i help you?
Me: I need rum which can be used in cooking.
Owner: (Surpirsed...shocked..cant really explain his expression) Oh..ok (talking to the other person)...Please get the XYZ rum bottle from up.
(I was getting extremely impatient after all I wasnt used to the idea of people staring at me as if I am an ET. After 2 mins I saw this big bottle of rum which i figured will go on for another decade)
Me: Oh this is very big bottle, can i get the smallest one available?
Owner: Errrr....Sure, 250 ml is ok?
Me: Perfect!!!

Recipe Source: Raaga
Pls Note: I have made few changes to the original recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour (300 gms)
1 cup dry fruits (raisins, dates, sultanas, currants, prunes)
1/2 cup mix  nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts)
1/2 cup tuttu frutti
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp clove powder
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
1 cup orange juice
3 tbsp rum (optional)

For Caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup boiling water

Procedure:

• 
  
  Soak the dry fruits, tutti frutti along with with cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg powder in orange juice and rum anywhere between 24 hours to 1 year. I soaked dry fruits for 2 days. Do stir the jar once a day.
  
  
  
• 
  
  On the day of making the cake, start by first making the caramel. In a heavy bottom pan, heat the sugar in a slow flame. The sugar will began to melt, stir this mixture slowly until all the sugar is melted and caramel is formed. When all the sugar crystals have been melted, add in boiling water and stir in to form smooth caramel syrup. Be very careful when adding boiling water as it will splutter a lot. Cool this mixture completely before using in the cake.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Sift the flour along with baking powder and keep it aside.
  
  
  
• 
  
  In a mixing bowl, beat together brown sugar and butter until light and fluffly. Slowly add in one egg at a time and beat well. Add in vanilla essence, dry fruits, flour and caramel mixture turn by turn. Mixing properly each time.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Grease & line 2 loaf tins and bake the cake at 180 degrees C for 40 to 45 mins. Do a tooth pick test to confirm.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Try storing the cake a week in the fridge wrapped in foil or cling film. This cake ages beautifully.
  
  
  

Rich Christmas Fruit Cake is off to Cake N Cookies event by Mahima and to Sara's Cakes N Cookies event.
This cake is also off to Divya's Show Me Your Cake event.