Vegan Date Cake

5 from 15 votes

Vegan dates cake? Does it sound healthy? Does it sound not so tasty? You are absolutely wrong. This is the simplest cake recipe one can bake and I can assure you that it's unbelievably moist and tasty.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Cooling Time15

Total Time1 15

Method: Baking

Course: Cakes

Servings: 16 Cake Pieces

Ingredients

18 count dates
¾ cup soy milk
¾ cup white sugar
¼ cup oil
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup walnuts chopped
16 count almonds for decoration

Instructions

Remove the seeds front he dates and soak it in warm milk overnight.
The next day before baking grind it into a smooth paste along with the sugar adding some more water/milk if necessary.
Preheat the oven at 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Grease well an 8x8 inch square baking pan with non stick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. You may use a circle pan too. In a medium size bowl sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside.
In a large bowl pour the dates paste. Mix in the oil and applesauce. Stir in the flour mixture little by little. Use a whisk to mix so that lumps won't form.
Add the walnuts and mix well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, arrange the almonds in a pattern and bake for for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Transfer the pan to a wire cooling rack. Leave it for at least 10-15 minutes before you can remove the cake from the oven. Cool it completely for another 15-30 minutes before you can slice this decadent vegan date cake.

Notes

I wanted to try a vegan version because I was having some unsweetened soy milk at home. Sometimes soy milk (some brands) can leave an after taste. So I also added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract which was not mentioned in the original recipe. You can also try flavoring it with cardamom powder.
We had kept the dates in the refrigerator and it was very hard. So I soaked it in ¾th cup warm soy milk. I left it soaked for nearly 15-16 hours. Maybe that much soaking is not required but I didn't find time to bake it earlier. I blended it in my food processor with the required amount of sugar and while doing so felt that some more liquid might be necessary. So added another ¼ cup of soy milk (this is not mentioned in the original recipe).
cup of oil is mentioned in the original recipe. Shilpa also mentions that she has tried baking the cake without oil and it turned out good as well, dense though. So I used ¼ cup vegetable oil and ¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce. Measured the oil in liquid measuring mug and the applesauce in dry measuring cup.

Taste & Texture

The cake tasted very good. I'm sure that I'm going to bake this date cake quite often. It's a hit with everybody in my family and my mother-in-law has already asked me to bake this for her when she leaves to India.

Nutrition