Hi friends, I'm back with a tasty vegan date cake. Actually I came back from India in the last week of August itself, but did not feel like blogging all these days. The trip was mostly good except when my son fell very sick when swine flu was at peak there. Thankfully it was regular flu and he is fine now. I thought of meeting all the food bloggers in Chennai but couldn't organize it with an hectic schedule. Hope to make it at least the next time.
On a different note, ladies, do you think that your husband is not appreciative of your efforts you put in the home front? Doesn't he help you around the house? Then pack your bags immediately and fly to India (or anywhere) and stay there at least for a month and see (enjoy) the respect you get when you come back! Even the simplest thing you do will be noticed by your better half. I'm loving it!
I didn't bake much in the past 2 weeks but for the vegan chocolate cake for my mother-in-law's birthday (she came with us) and Shilpa's eggless date cake. The date cake has been in my to-bake list for quite sometime now. Somehow I didn't get a chance to bake it until recently.
We got a big pack of (Lion brand) seedless dates from India and I wanted to use it up. My son also has started going to school full time and I have to pack lunch for him. He usually eats some fruit or some healthy sweet after his lunch and dinner. So I decided to bake this cake.
If you tried this Vegan Date Cake recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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Recipe
Vegan Date Cake
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.
My 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.
Madhu says
Hi Madhu,
I made this cake over the weekend. I added few more ingredients to it. I added some pumpkin puree and some all spice to enhance the flavor. I also substituted it with whole wheat flour. It took a little longer than the time mentioned in your recipe but it turned out really good. It was a bit dense may be 'coz of the wheat flour but it was very moist and no after taste from wheat flour. :). Thanks for the recipe and your recent cake decorations look amazing. You should be having a lot of patience.
Thanks Madhu for trying the recipe. It's good to know that whole wheat flour works well too in this recipe. I'll keep this in mind while baking it the next time.
Margaret T. says
This date cake looks AMAZING. I can't wait to try it. I've actually had a hard time finding a vegan date cake recipe which seems strange to me. I even had to get through this terrible thing to find your recipe! http://apocalypsecakes.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/global-jihad-date-cake/
Can you believe that??? Thank you so much for posting!
mona says
wowwwwww i like
Priya Srinivasan says
Hi madhu!
baked this Cake on weekend, it was a superhit, perfect bake.
So happy to see the cake fluffy and soft!!!!
My Kid too had it for breakfast!!! Thank u for a wonderful recipe!!
You're welcome Priya.
Nandhini says
Thanks for ur reply Madhuram. As you said i will first try out the above cake with maida or all purpose flour. I have a question in the preparation. After adding all the ingredients, shouldn't i beat the batter till it becomes frothy?
Nandhini, beating the batter is not necessary. The cake will become tough.
Nandhini says
Hi Madhuram, I new to ur blog and eggless baking too. As my son started eating cakes and muffins i wanted to prepare at home. Your Vegan Date Cake looks very delicious and tempting.I will try out this weekend. I have a question, can i use whole wheat flour instead of Maida. Help me how to get the same taste and texture using wheat flour.
Welcome to my blog Nandhini. If I were to try, I would first try with whole wheat pastry flour because it has the goodness of whole wheat but that does not affect the taste of the baked goods too. If that's not available use all purpose flour and whole wheat flour in equal proportions. Another option is to use white whole wheat flour. Assuming that you live in US, all these are easily available in the organic aisle of regular grocery stores. I'm suggesting you to go slow on this because if you have never tried baking ( and also tasted baked goods) using whole wheat flour it might be difficult to adjust, especially for your son, if you use whole wheat flour alone. So slowly increase the quantity of wheat flour. Substitute 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice for an equal amount of liquid given in the recipe to hide the raw taste/smell from the wheat flour.
SMILA says
i want to try ur recipes.
Thanks Smila. Do try it out and let me know.
Jeya says
Hi Madhuram,
I have been regularly checking out your site and have found amazing recipes. I have also tried quite a few such as the zucchini bread, bulgur sundal. oven baked chick peas and we all loved 'em.
I am planning to try your date cake recipe for diwali and take it with me to India next month. I just have one quick question. If I am to use cow's milk instead of soy milk, how do you think I can store and pack so that it will last longer (may be for at least a week).
Thanks for trying the recipes Jeya. Usually I bake just the day before leaving to India. Cool it and store it in the fridge and just pack it in (preferably in a ziploc bag and then put it in some other container) the suitcase the next day. I have observed that cakes get tougher the more and more it stays in the fridge, so microwave it for a couple of seconds before eating it.
Anila says
Hi Madhu,
I made your eggless choclate cake,cupcake,Blueberry coffe cake,zucchinni bread during 3 or 4 different occassions.Everyone who tasted it liked all these items.I really wanted to express my thanks to you for posting these recipes and inspired me to bake.
You're most welcome Anila. I'm really very happy to know that you have tried so many recipes.
Anh says
So inspiring!
sandhya says
aww... you back! i went mad without your new pictures for quite a long while! everyday at lunch time I would log in and return unhappy without new posts. welcome back!
That's so sweet! Thank you Sandy.
Pravin says
Thanks to see your post and get the cake recipe i tried out and if any problem i send the mail.Actually I am searching the souffle recipe is any idea about that so, please let me known and welcome back to India.
Hi Pravin, if you are looking for an eggless souffle recipe, I don't have one right now. I'll let you know if I come across it.
jahnu says
Dear Madhu,
nice to see u back. I tried ur eggless Zuccini chocolate cake twice.First time it was slightly sticky, but the taste was so good. the second one came out very good, nice texture, moist & yummy. It is a hit. Now this date cake is looking so yummy. Will try this week end.
Thanks Jahnu. I'm glad that you got the zucchini cake right. Do try the dates cake and am I sure you will get it right the first time itself.
Divya says
Good to see you back Madhu..:)
Shilpa's cake is something which I have made many times and every time with a small change..let me tell you,your cake looks so pretty,neat slices and all:).Almond topping is an idea I am planning to lift:)
Thanks Divya. I'm so glad that I tried the dates cake at least now. It's definitely a winner recipe.
Sonu says
Yaay! you back. I was expecting your post in this week.:) Actually, I wanted to try that Blueberry Coffee Cake from you...everything is ready and going to make it today. Will let you know how it come out.
Here, the Date Cake looks so delish. I love Date in any form. Should try it some day. 🙂 Take care. Relax and pamper urself.:)
Thank you very much Sonu. Do try it and let me know.
Kamala says
i love your cake recipes very much...
Thanks Kamala.
jayasri says
Nice to see you back, with lovely vegan bake, looks so delicious, will try this, God my BM is becoming so big God knows when I am going to try all of them.
Thank you very much Jayasri.
Happy Cook says
Looks so moist bautiful and welcome back. We cannot miss our celebrity blogger 🙂 for long.
Aww!, that's so sweet of you.
vani says
hi ,
i have a quick question. u have mentioned that u made some changes from the original recipe. i read the whole recipe. but i am bit confused so can u please tell me the exact recipe what u followed. i really thank you and appreciate if u could please tell me the exact recipe what u followed. so that i can follow the same thing. thanks .
Vani, I have given the link in two places (Shilpa's eggless date cake and original recipe). Anyway it's here: http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/05/27/date-cake-eggless/
vani says
Nice to see your post after a long time. welcome back. i like your recepies and i tried making mango halwa and it came out really well and everyone in my family enjoyed it 🙂
Vani, thank you very much for trying the mango halwa.