Date and Pistachio Cake (No Refined Sugar)
Description
This tender, delicate date pistachio cake is refined sugar free but you would never tell; gets its sweetness from pureed dates that lend a caramel flavor and a toasty crunch coming from the pistachios. It is so easy to make and such a delight to eat; the kind of cake that works for almost any occasion, it’s just as fitting for gatherings with friends, Mother’s Day, or anytime you need a cake that feels so special without feeling guilty.
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2lb 4 oz medjool dates
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 cups semolina
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup desiccated unsweetened coconut
- 3 heaped teaspoons baking powder
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond milk or your favorite milk
- 11/2 cups raw pistachios
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup toasted or white sesame seeds (divided between the batter and coating the cake pans
- tahini 1/4 cup or more to brush the two cake pans with
- 1/4 cup orange blossom water
- 100 / 3.5 oz grams butter room temperatue, optional, but recommended
For the glaze
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 3 tablespoons organic honey, can be substituted by maple syrup, carob molasses or date molasses
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Spread the raw shelled pistachios in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then roast for 8–10 minutes, stirring halfway through, until fragrant and slightly golden, watch closely to avoid burning. Let them cool down.
- Pull open the dates and release the pits by hand. Transfer to a deep bowl, sprinkle with baking soda and add 2 cups of boiling water, ensuring the water covers the dates, leave it aside until the mix totally cools down.
- Using a sharp knife roughly chop the toasted pistachios.
- In a large bowl, combine together the dry ingredients: semolina, all-purpose flour, almond flour, unsweetened coconut, chopped pistachios (keep just a bit for garnish), give a quick stir and add the baking powder, and half of the sesame seeds. Stir one more time to infuse the dry ingredients together.
- Blend the dates using an immersion blender until creamy and smooth.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and date puree together until light and fluffy, stir in the orange blossom water and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Flavor the cake with a few drops of vanilla extract.
- Gently add the almond milk, or your favorite milk and continue beating just to incorporate the milk in the batter.
- Add the dry ingredients (the flour mixture) to the date mix, and using a spatula mix well until just combined. It is a big batter cake, so you need to divide it in 2 cake ring pans.
- Grease two cake ring pans with tahini, using a brush make sure use spread the tahini all over the two cake pans (this will prevent the cake from sticking and will add a favored nutty flavor. Coat the cake ring pans with the remaining sesame seeds.
- Transfer the batter equally to the prepared two cake ring pans. Bake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven to 180°C/350°F, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- While the cakes bake make the glaze, in a small bowl stir together the tahini and honey.
- Invert the cakes one at a time onto serving platter. I kept one plain without a glaze, and I drizzled the glaze over the top of the second cake, letting it drip down the sides. Garnish the cakes with the remaining chopped pistachios.
Video
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