Sticky Date Cake (soft sponge, warming ginger, crunchy topping)

A sticky date cake with a slice cut and lying in front of the cake.

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Sticky Date Cake (soft sponge, warming ginger, crunchy topping)

This sticky date cake is rich, soft and loaded with warming stem ginger and syrup. Finished with a crunchy Demerara sugar topping this ginger date cake is lovely with a cup of tea or served with custard as a dessert.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Baking

Cuisine: Worldwide

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

1 1lb loaf tin approximately 18cm x 10cm x 8cm (length, width, depth)

Ingredients

150 g Block Dates e.g. Whitworths
½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
75 g Stem Ginger approx. 3 bulbs
125 g Butter or baking margarine
125 g Light Muscovado Sugar
2 tablespoons Golden Syrup
1 tablespoon Black Treacle
2 Eggs large, free-range
45 g Soured Cream or Greek yoghurt
150 g Plain Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
30 g Demerara Sugar
3-4 tablespoons Stem Ginger Syrup from the jar of stem ginger

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170℃/ 340℉ and grease and line the 1lb loaf tin.
Finely chop the dates, place them into a bowl, sprinkle over the bicrabonate of soda and cover with freshly boiled water. Set aside to soak.
150 g Block Dates, ½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
Mince the stem ginger bulbs as finely as possible - use a large sharp knife to do this.
75 g Stem Ginger
Use electric beaters to cream the butter, Muscovado sugar, golden syrup and black treacle together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
125 g Butter, 125 g Light Muscovado Sugar, 2 tablespoons Golden Syrup, 1 tablespoon Black Treacle
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, then beat in the soured cream/ Greek yoghurt.
2 Eggs, 45 g Soured Cream
Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg together and sieve into the mixing bowl. Use a large metal spoon to fold the flour mixture through until the batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain.
150 g Plain Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, 1½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
Drain the dates by tipping them into a fine-meshed sieve suspended over a bowl. Shake the sieve a few times to remove excess liquid (the dates should look very soft, almost like a puree). Discard the soaking water and add the dates and stem ginger to the cake batter. Fold through until evenly distributed.
Spoon the batter into a lined loaf tin then sprinkle half of the Demerara sugar over the top.
30 g Demerara Sugar
Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until well-risen and cooked through (poke a skewer into the centre - it should come out clean if the cake is properly baked).
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven poke holes into it using a cocktail pick. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of syrup from the jar of stem ginger over the top of the cake
3-4 tablespoons Stem Ginger Syrup
Immediately sprinkle the remaining Demerara sugar over the cake and leave it in the tin to cool completely.
30 g Demerara Sugar

Notes

Wrap your cake for 24 hours: For the best flavour wrap your date loaf cake in foil and store at room temperature for 24 hours before serving. This will allow the flavours to develop further.
Weigh ingredients accurately: Use grams and digital kitchen scales for precision. Don't estimate ingredient weights when baking as inferior resusts are highly likely.
Use the correct tin size: This date loaf cake requires a 1lb loaf tin. Mine measures approx 18cm x 10cm.
Grease & line your baking tin: Even if the tin is non-stick, your cake will be easier to remove from it as a result.
Mince the ginger finely: The finer you are able to chop the ginger the less chunky your cake will be and the warmth of the ginger will be more evenly spread throughout the cake.
Store your cake (wrapped) at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Freeze the cake (either whole or individual slices) for up to 2 months. Defrost fully at room temperature before serving.

Variations

Add nuts: Walnuts, pecan nuts and almonds all partner well with dates. For a crunchier, nutty date cake try mixing 75g chopped nuts of your choice into the cake batter.
Add chocolate: To satiate a chocolate craving, mix 100g dark chocolate chips into the cake batter.
Turn it into a sticky toffee date cake: To do this you could leave out the Demerara sugar and add a sticky toffee flavoured buttercream plus a drizzle of sticky toffee sauce to the top of your ginger and date cake. You can find instructions for both these additions in my recipe for sticky toffee cupcakes.

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