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Why I Love This Sticky Date Cake
Every holiday season, as I prepare the list of baked goods I want to make, I always go back to family recipes. Many of them hold so many cherished memories. And honestly, isn’t that the real reason why Christmas is so special? I usually stick to the tried-and-true staples, but I also try some new recipes. These cakes aren’t really new: I found the recipe while going through my family’s old recipes. This is one my grandma made, but I can’t actually recall ever eating it!
While dates aren’t something we bake with very often, years ago, they were often used in desserts, prized for their sweetness and their exoticness. Nowadays, come the holiday season, large Medjool dates pop up in stores, and I cannot stop myself from buying them. That’s the reason why this recipe is perfect this year! It’s a delicious and super moist cake, almost pudding-like, with a boozy sauce poured over the top and left to soak in. Need I say more?
More Christmas Desserts
- Cookies and cream fudge
- Peanut butter truffles
- Decadent chocolate mousse
- Brownie thins
- White fruitcake
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!
Sticky Date Cake
Ingredients
For the cakes
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped dates
- ¾ cup toasted chopped pecans
For the sauce
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp cognac
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp orange zest
Instructions
For the cakes
- Preheat the oven for 350°F.
- Spread pecans on a baking sheet in an even layer. Toast in oven until fragrant, 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, and chop coarsely. Set aside.¾ cup toasted chopped pecans
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, 3-5 minutes.8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, 1 cup dark brown sugar
- Mix in the eggs until well combined.2 large eggs
- Add the applesauce and vanilla. Scrape the bowl and mix to make sure everything is incorporated.2 cups applesauce, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Sift together the dry ingredients and mix them, adding all at once. Mix until no dry streaks remain, 1 minute.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp allspice, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 2 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp kosher salt
- Chop the dates. To decrease the stickiness of the dates, freeze them ahead of time. Additionally, greasing a knife blade can help assist the chopping of the date.1 cup chopped dates
- Add the dates and pecans, mixing to incorporate.
- Grease 1 10-cup Bundt pan or 8 6-ounce ramekins. Scoop batter into the pan and bake in the preheated oven until set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 45-60 minutes (or 20-25 minutes if using individual ramekins).
For the sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, and orange juice. Bring to a low boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes.1 cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- Remove from heat and add butter, cognac, vanilla, salt, and zest. Stir to melt butter.3 tbsp unsalted butter, 2 tbsp cognac, ½ tsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp orange zest, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Poke holes in the cake and slowly pour the sauce over the warm cake. Allow the liquid to soak in and continue to pour until all sauce has been used.
- Serve immediately. Add a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to each slice of cake.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
Love watching your videos! Wondering if this sticky date cake could be made in the individual Bundt pans? If so what would the timing be?
Love the feeling of home and comfort that you show.
Love all you do and how you go in to depth to explain everything
Have a beautiful Christmas Xx
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe with us Kaleb! I made this today, and the house smells so wonderful. I made this ahead of time for Christmas dinner, but it is going to take all of my will power not to cut into it before then. I plan to warm the cake and the sauce up before serving it so that everything is sexy and warm. Do you want us to share photos of the finished product?
Also, I noticed that the recipe states two eggs. Yet your video shows eggs shells from three eggs in your egg bowl. Wondering if it is two eggs or three eggs.
Thanks again and Happy Holidays!
Vincent
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Wanted to try this recipe..May i know how many gram is the cup?
Hi Sandra.
One cup of dry measure is 128 grams. A cup of something else, butter for example, would be different, as a cup pf butter would be 250 grams. Hope that helps.
Excellent! It is a wonderful cake.
Not a date fan but dried prunes sub sounds promising.
This reminds me of a Sticky Toffee Pudding (really a cake!)
The texture and sweetness reminds me of The Bushmill’s Inn in Northern Ireland,
Looks amazing!! Time to do another instacart…… Cognac and Dates coming up!
I made your Sponge Candy, Toffee, and Carmel recipes so far. They have all been amazing!! You are keeping me cheerful during this time of Covid!! Thank you so much! Shared your website at the zoom church coffee hour/fellowship today!
OMG! These look amazing. You are going to have me baking and cooking all of December and I’m not even a good baker. Love your blog, videos and recipes!