Gluten Free Date Christmas Cake

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I love Christmas baking and I'm a fan of the less known bakes. Date cake is something that has been part of our Christmas must haves for ages. It's a very popular Christmas bake in Finland. You would always find them sold at every school Christmas fayre and market. This cake is a perfect gluten free bake, because the dates retain all the moisture.  It also freezes amazingly and it's so lovely with a hot cuppa! We would love to see your date cakes so please tag us or comment if you try our recipe. 

 

If you don’t have a coffee cake bundt tin use a springform cake tin.

 

Ingredients

 

250 g seedless dates, the ones from the baking/fruit/nut aisle are best for this one. 

170 g sugar  

200 ml water

200 g butter

2 eggs

250 g gluten free plain flour blend (I use Doves Farm)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

 

For greasing the tin:

Butter

Ground Almonds /gluten free breadcrumbs/gluten free plain flour*

*I prefer using ground almonds in cake tins. They are the closest to real breadcrumbs in texture. 

 

 

  1. Start by chopping the dates and making sure all stones have been removed. Add the dates to a pan win the water and sugar. 
  2. Simmer on low until the dates have absorbed the water.
  3. Add the butter. Let it melt and stir well.
  4. You can choose to leave it as it is or blend it with a stick/immersion blender to a fine puree. Blending it gives you an airier cake.
  5. Let the mixture cool.
  6. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
  7. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the date mix.
  8. Add flour mixture to the mix.
  9. Grease and flour your tin well. 
  10. Pour the mixture to the tin and make little dent with a spatula or spoon around the middle so the cake will rise evenly. If you are using a springform tin you can skip this.
  11. Bake at 175°C at the lowest rack for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake only has dry crumbs on it. Don’t over bake. 
  12. Let it cool in its’ tin for 15 minutes. 
  13. Turn it over carefully to a plate or other serving dish. Let cool completely.
  14. Coat the cake with icing sugar before serving. 

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