Let’s see…how would one describe this date loaf cake? 

Try to imagine a fruit cake – but airy, and less sweet. It has a great spiced taste that transports you right to the holidays, but it’s also reminiscent of good old banana bread.

As you can tell, this date loaf is a lot of great things. And to add to that list is moist. If we’re being brutally honest, I kind of forgot about my date loaf cake and left it in the oven for 5 minutes too long (as you can see by the photos). Even now, though, it’s still delicious and pretty moist – which just tells you how good it is when you don’t burn it!

Cooking with dates is great because you need very little (if any) sugar. I mean, they are nature’s sweet! I love the flavour that the dates give, and as a bonus, they also add a lovely brown colour!

How to Make the Date Loaf Cake

Making this date loaf is as easy as pie (or in this case, as easy as cake)!

Simply place the pitted dates, butter, baking soda, boiling water, vanilla essence, sugar, and salt into a food processor and allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes. During this time, the dates will be softened by the heat of the melted butter and boiling water.

Process the mixture for a few seconds, until mostly smooth. You don’t have to get it super smooth, those little chunks of date give a great texture. 

Next, add in the eggs and quickly process until just combined.

Finally, mix the desiccated coconut, cake flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and mixed spice in a bowl. Pour in the date mixture and milk, and whisk just until the batter comes together.

Scrape every last drop (or a little less if you want to lick the bowl!) of that batter into the loaf tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Don’t be stupid and forget about it whilst it’s in the oven, like me! Once baked, allow it to cool on a wire rack.

Serving & Storing

This date loaf is scrumptious on its own. It doesn’t even need icing.

But. And here’s the big but. As with most things, you can elevate it with…you guessed it…a scoop of ice cream! On that note, some custard or cream is also always a win.

As for the storage, simply place it in an airtight container and finish it off within a few days.

I’m sure you won’t have any trouble polishing it off, but if it is getting a bit stale just add a dash of milk or cream to moisten it up again!

Print Recipe

Date Loaf Cake

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Dessert or Afternoon Treat

Serves: 1 small loaf

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 30 minutes – Total Time: 50 minutes

Dates add the most wonderful flavour to a cake, and they're a great sugar replacement! This easy date loaf recipe is a real keeper. It's moist, it's tasty, it's airy, and it's not sickly sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted dates (130g)
• 125g butter, melted
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ⅓ cup boiling water
• 5ml vanilla essence
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• ⅓ cup desiccated coconut
• 1½ cups cake flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• 2T milk

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 165°C. Line a small loaf tin with baking paper.

2

Place the pitted dates, butter, baking soda, boiling water, vanilla essence, sugar, and salt into a food processor and allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes, to soften the dates. Process the mixture for a few seconds, until mostly smooth. It’s totally fine if there are some small chunks of date left. Add in the eggs and process until just combined.

3

Mix the desiccated coconut, cake flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and mixed spice in a bowl. Whisk in the date mixture along with the milk. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.