Vegan date cake (Νηστίσιμο γλυκό με χουρμάδες)

A vegan cake recipe made with dates!

Make no mistake, dates feature very prominently in this cake.  If you are not sure that you like dates, or if you think that you would not like dates, you should probably give this cake a try.  Truly.  The only reason you should pass on it is if you are 100%, definitely and absolutely, a date hater.  And even then, unless you are deathly allergic to dates (or any of the other ingredients in this cake), you should give it a go.  Dates are an incredible fruit, and frankly, we think that this is an incredible cake.

The species name of the tree which bears the date fruit is dactylifera or “date-bearing” and comes from the Greek words daktylos (δάκτυλος), which means finger, and fero (φέρω) which means “I bring”.  Apparently this nomenclature was used because dates were felt to resemble fingers.  We don’t really think that they do, but dates have been around for so long, with fossil evidence of date trees going as far back as 50 million years, that perhaps fingers looked different then.

Mainly composed of sugar, dates are a great way to satisfy a sweet craving.  But there is more to dates than sweet stuff; they also contain protein, fiber, and trace elements, particularly potassium.  This may be why people who try this cake remark that they can enjoy it without feeling too guilty (although if you ask us, no cake should ever make you feel guilty).  This cake is not only good, it tastes like it might be kind of good for you.

Helpful hints

There are many varieties of dates available, usually classified as soft, semi-dried and dried.  Whenever we can, we like to purchase the soft Medjool dates for snacking and cooking / baking with.  This variety of date tends to be more expensive than others, but they are worth it.  Medjool dates are quite large and they are absolutely delicious, and addictive!  If you cannot find Medjool dates (or any other soft variety), a semi-dried variety such as Deglet Noor would work well here too.

Most dates you purchase will have a stone (seed) in them.  Before you start chopping your dates, split them in two and remove the stone.

Chopping dates is tricky, and sticky!  Because dates are sticky (lots of natural sugar in dates), your knife ends up getting gooey quickly into the chopping.  To help address this problem (really, we hope this is the biggest problem you encounter in your day!), we like to use a small serrated knife.  By sawing through the dates, the process tends to be a bit smoother (ironically).  Also, remember that your dates don’t need to be beautifully chopped.  The dates going into the glaze will turn into a paste, and those in the cake will be mixed in with all the other lovely ingredients making their chopped size and shape inconsequential.

We like to use slivered almonds in this recipe, but we have also made this cake with whole, unpeeled almonds which we have just coarsely chopped.  Either is fine.  In fact, you can even substitute the almonds for another kind of nut.  Pecans would work well here, as would chopped walnuts or hazelnuts.

When mixed with water, ground flaxseed is a great alternative to eggs in baking. Just as in our vegan banana bread, this particular recipe does not suffer from the lack of eggs; the cake is moist and perfectly delicious without them.  We like to buy whole flaxseeds and grind them ourselves in a coffee grinder we reserve for grains and spices.  This way, we only grind up what we need (although we often like to keep some ground flax ready in the refrigerator to top oatmeal or Greek yogurt).

When making the glaze for the cake, you will notice that your chopped up dates mixed with sugar and water will turn into a paste-like substance after cooking for about 5 –  10 minutes over medium heat.  This will not be an entirely smooth paste and you may still have small bits of date that have retained their shape.  This is perfectly fine.  Only when you have reached this state will you remove the glaze from the heat and add in your nuts.  Adding the nuts too soon can soften them, and you want to keep a bit of the crunch.

Looking for some vegan desserts? How about these?

Chocolate halva

Vegan chocolate and strawberry cookies

Chocolate and orange cake

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