Rich Date and Walnut Cake

A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the Date and Walnut Cake is often made for Christmas, special events, and birthdays. Easy to make at home, this traditional East Indian version from Mumbai is a much sought after Christmas delicacy!

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Almost as popular for Christmas as the traditional boozy Christmas cake, the date and walnut cake is one of our favorites all the year round! It’s as delightful as my sister’s date and orange semolina cake, isn’t it?

What ingredients do you need for our Date and Walnut Cake?

To make this date cake with walnuts, what you need is eggs, butter, sugar, maida (refined flour), semolina (rava or sojee), cocoa powder, baking powder, dates, walnuts, and vanilla essence.

How to make a Date and Walnut Cake?

Prep of dates and walnuts

Start with the prep of the dates and walnuts. Break the walnuts into small pieces and do the same with the dates. Discard seeds, if any. We usually use seedless black dates, but seedless red dates will work too. Dates are quite sticky, so use some maida (flour) to coat the dates while breaking them into pieces so that they do not clump together.

For the cake batter

Add the eggs and the one additional yolk to a vessel and beat them. We use a fork or a whisk. You can use a hand mixer if you want.

Add in the butter followed by the sugar and mix well. Then add in the Vanilla essence and mix again. After this mix the dry ingredients – cocoa powder, baking powder, maida (flour), and sojee (semolina) – in another vessel. Add these ingredients to the cake batter little by little. Lastly, add the pieces of dates and broken walnuts.

Pour into lined tins and allow to bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for about 50 mins. This recipe makes two small 6-inch tins or one large 8-inch tin.

When the timer goes off, you can check if it’s ready by staking the cake in the center with a toothpick or knife. If it comes out clean, it’s done, but if there’s a bit of batter stuck on the toothpick you need to leave it in for a little more time, say 10 to 15 minutes. Check again later and if it’s ready, remove it out to cool. And your dates and walnut cake is ready to serve!

What’s perfect about this Cake recipe?

• The cocoa powder adds a nice chocolaty flavour to the cake.
• The bitter-sweet taste of the walnuts and dates is a flavourful combination.
• Dates are highly nutritious.

Cooking Tips and tricks

• Prepare the walnuts and dates before you begin mixing the cake batter.
• Mix the maida and baking powder together before adding to the rest of the batter to have a better rise.
  Using seedless black dates instead of deseeding the dates helps reduce preparation time.
• Toast the walnuts to get more of a crunch. It also ensures that the cake lasts longer.
• Most packets of seedless dates tend to be of about 400 to 500 grams. So instead of leaving the leftover dates as a snack, why not make date rolls on the same day?

Questions about Baking a Date and Walnut Cake

Can I Use Dry Dates instead of Wet Ones?

No, for this cake recipe it is better to use wet black dates or wet red dates only.

Can I Use Chocolate Instead Of Cocoa Powder?

No, it is better to use Cocoa powder as cocoa powder is not sweetened.

Do The Walnuts Give A Bitter After Taste?

No, the sweetness of the dates contrasts well with the walnuts, you will not find it bitter at all.

What Other East Indian Recipes Can I Make With Semolina/Rawa/Sojee?

Other recipes you can try are the snow balls, chocolate honey balls, bolings, borose cookies, sojee sweet, thalie sweet, carambolas, and many of our cakes.

Other recipes you might like

• Honeyballs, a semolina dessert
• Shell shaped snacks called Kulkuls
• Indian chili and tomato sauce
• Wine from ginger root
• Boiled Egg Salad