Date & Cashew Olive Oil Cake

Date & Cashew Olive Oil Cake

A year ago, on December 12th to be precise, after a lot of hurdles, divinetaste finally went online. I was in the advanced stages of pregnancy at that time. If I was able to keep this site moving through the birth of our baby and tending to a newborn, it was because of the huge support and encouragement that I received from my mother. Be it her excitement for me to take pictures of the Brahma kamala (a wonderfully aromatic flower which blooms only once a year) or when she came across any interesting food item, it was her constant enthusiasm and cheer that kept me going.


My mother belongs to that category of people who has a sweet countenance perpetually. She was there for me 24/7 with my newborn baby. Her personality never ceases to amaze me and I have come to appreciate her more after having become a mother myself. She manages all the aspects of her life, her part in the family business, philanthropic activities through religious and social institutions, of managing a beautiful home and garden with a passion for potted plants, that of a loving wife who has supported her husband through the trials and tribulations of life, an amazing mother to her three children and my favourite role which in my opinion she plays the best, that of a grandmother to my son. I have never seen her so happy as she was when she first set her eyes on my son, elated at being a grandmother and I have never seen her love anyone so much!


As this year comes to a close, I feel grateful for all the wonderful things in my life, the highlight being my son born on the 10th of March this year. A wonderful father and two amazing siblings make up my family in my parental home. Post the birth of my son, I spent many cosy months nestled in the comforts of my parents home. Although I miss being there, it also feels great being back home and for the three of us to be together as a family. And to have access to all my things, books, kitchen essentials et al!



Now coming to the subject of this post, the date and cashew olive oil cake, I made this cake for my father's birthday taking into consideration his liking for olive oil. This is a wonderfully moist cake with deep flavours. The crunchiness provided by the cashews is perfectly balanced by the softness of the dates in this cake. The topping is quick to assemble and adds taste to the cake.

I also have something else to tell you. The divinetaste kitchen is moving! To a much bigger if not better kitchen. I can't tell you how much I look forward to working from my new kitchen. My private study, which will house my innumerable cookbook collection and a studio, are an added attraction. Thank you dearest Ro for making this possible.

Date and Cashew Olive Oil Cake Recipe

Replace the plain flour with whole wheat flour for a healthier version.

Ingredients:

280 gm (2 cups) plain flour

280 gm (1 ยฝ cup) jaggery or dark muscovado sugar*

150 gm (3/4 cup) seedless dates, chopped

100 gm (1/2 cup) cashew nuts

125ml (1/2 cup) plain yogurt

125 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil

250 ml water

2 tbsp date syrup or molasses

2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 vanilla bean finely chopped or 1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

For topping:

2 tbsp butter

6 tbsp jaggery or muscovado sugar

2 tbsp date syrup

Method:

Grease and line the bottom of an 9" round cake tin with greaseproof paper/baking parchment/butter paper. In a mixing bowl, assemble the flour, baking powder and baking soda, mix with a spoon and sieve once to make the mixture uniform.

In a mixing bowl add the yogurt, oil, jaggery or muscovado sugar, date syrup and water and beat with a wire whisk or a spoon. Mix in the sifted flour mixture and beat with a spoon or a wire whisk until there are no lumps.Stir in the dates, cashews, cinnamon powder and vanilla bean and mix well.

Transfer the contents to the greased and lined tin and bake in a preheated oven at 150 degree centigrade for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.

For the topping:

In a small saucepan, mix the jaggery and butter and cook on a low flame until the jaggery melts completely.When the cake cools, pour the topping over the cake.

* It is better to measure jaggery by weight as the powder measurements are different each time

Makes one 9" round cake

Recipe updated on 15.04.2015

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44 thoughts on “Date & Cashew Olive Oil Cake

  1. The cake looks moist and divine. I thought the topping was chocolate ๐Ÿ™‚ and your mom's garden is gorgeous.

    The link to Brahma Kamala shows the cake picture.

  2. I thought this was a Christmas cake when I first saw the photo because it looks so dense and moist!
    One question: is it ok if I substitute dried figs in place of dates? Do I need to add more yogurt to make up for the lost moisture?

  3. Such a beautiful post about your family! ๐Ÿ™‚ Knew about the bigger kitchen, but a private study? Wow! Love the perky photo of the cake with the flowers and the blue table cloth!

  4. indosungod and purplefoodie: thanks

    Chaitali: Coming to think of it, this would make a good christmas cake. You could substitute dry figs. I dont think there is any need to increase the yogurt in the recipe if you decide to substitute the dates with figs.

  5. Hi Anu,
    A special Hi from Florence! This post is amazing – I especially like the photo collage! The cakes and pastries here in Italy keep reminding us of you. Ro & you would absolutely love it. Apparently, there is a pretty big jazz festival here in Rome every year. Looking forward to the four of us hitting this sometime in the near future. Take care.
    Very nice recipe
    MJ

  6. I don't know where to start! This is a wonderful cake, flavorful and moist! It looks delicious! And your pictures of your beautiful family are stunning! What a happy family! And I know how much you have been looking forward to finally arriving in your new kitchen. You are truly blessed!

  7. Beautiful pictures! Your family sounds awesome and the cake looks delicious. Can't wait to see the new kitchen!

  8. hi anu ,
    as usual u have come out ;
    with awonderful post.
    iwas touched n emotionalto see the post
    hope this new year wil bring us many more post,
    like this my best wishes to U RO Nmy daerest hari.

  9. cannot believe i missed this. first hoping you another grand year in blogging. it's been a real pleasure knowing you and i really enjoy your space here. the cake looks heavenly! just my kind of sweet treat!

  10. I made this as a celebration cake for my husband's best friend, who is a vegan version of Desperate Dan (the comic book scoff-a-lot character)- we ate it warm with soya custard, and what little was left over was just as yummy the next day. Have promised to make this once a week from now on until further notice!

  11. this is so beautiful, anu. and, you have such a lovely family, god bless and keep it well.

    i made choclate cake with jaggery too and can imagine how wonderful this must have tasted in combo with all that dates and cashews! i will surely try this soon (when my fav aunt visits us the month after).

  12. Hi Anushruti,

    Am quite excited to have discovered your wonderful blog especially since your baking recipes involve no eggs. You have made it easy for a novice like me in baking by giving the cup measurement also which really helps.

    Have a question here Anushruti, is there a substitute for olive oil?. And,is the date syrup absolutely essential?.

    Thanks in advance .

  13. Kalpakam: Thank you for your comment. Olive oil could be substituted here with sunflower oil or any other flavourless oil. The date syrup gives that intrinsic date taste and is worth having.

  14. Hi
    I accidentally came across your site and cannot believe I have not visited this site till now… your recipes look simple and easy, and your photos are awesome!!!! I thought I was a good cook,and take pride in my cooking.I can reproduce any dish I eat at restaurants, but your site make me realize my limitations… I can privately send you some of the Italian recipes (as a TamBram,I adapt any recipe to suit vegetarian palettes, and so are improvised ones) for posting if you are interested… can't wait to try your cake recipes, as I have just started baking and my earlier two attempts have not been such great successes!!!

    Thanks
    Uthra

  15. Made this cake today. Used walnuts instead of cashew nuts. It came out really well: moist and delicious and really beautiful looking too. Had a great time making and tasting it. Thanks!

  16. i have tried a few cakes from your blog always with a good response! Very keen to try this as well! I was wondering though whether the Cashews be substituted with almonds since I don't eat cashews? Also, I happen to have extra virgin olive oil at home. Is that suitable to use?

  17. I baked this cake for friends for Christmas. I reserved a small portion of the batter to pour in a tiny tin I have so i can taste the cake too. It was absolutely delicious that my husband wants me to bake this again.
    Thank you for sharing this and many more eggless cakes.

  18. Anushruti,

    Is it ok to substitute brown sugar for jaggery in this cake? If yes, then is it in the same proportion or should I increase or decrease the quantity of brown sugar?
    I am thinking of substituting walnuts for cashews. Hope that won't disturb the recipe.

    Thanks and Cheers,
    Swapna

  19. Hi,
    This is without doubt one of the BEST cakes that I have made from your recipes.Great! Keep it up!

  20. Hi Anushruti

    Such a wonderful website you have created and a go to place for the eggless baking. simply fallen in love with your recipes, I have tried a few and the best one has to be the blueberry muffins.

    I had a question with this cake – does it turn out to be soft and moist?
    Or does it become bit hard/dense and moist?

    Thanks
    From
    Dhilanee

  21. Hi
    I am a great fan of your recipes.
    I have tried most of your cakes and it has been a success always.Thanks for the recipes. I will definetly try this cake.Thank you
    mamatha

  22. Hi Anushruti

    I have tried most of your recipes
    But this dates and cashew cake has become our favourite cake
    And I have tried many times..

    Thanks a lot….

  23. ?What can i substitute the date syrup with? idk whether i cn find it. or how do i make it?

  24. Hi mam,
    I have been following your blog and made this cake today by reducing the measurements to half and the results were delicious though i skipped the date syrup and the topping..happy with my first attempt.Thanks for this simple yet a delicious cake recipe.My mother loved it and so did I. ๐Ÿ™‚

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