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Date and Pecan Cake

Serves 10

© by Angie Mosier

Ingredients

  • Medjool Dates 1 1⁄2 cups, pitted and coarsely chopped (about 8 ounces)
  • Boiling Water 3⁄4 cup
  • All-Purpose Flour 2 cups
  • Baking Soda 1 tsp
  • Baking Powder 1 tsp
  • Pinch of Kosher Salt a pinch
  • Eggs 2 large
  • Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
  • Unsalted Butter 8 Tbs (1 stick), melted
  • Sugar 1 cup
  • Pecans 1 cup, coarsely chopped
  • Confectioners’ Sugar for dusting

Cook It

  1. Place the dates in a small bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, until soft. Every once in a while, press the dates down into the water.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with a rack in the middle. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
  4. Transfer the dates, with their soaking water, to a blender or food processor and pulse to a coarse puree. Add the eggs and vanilla and pulse to combine. Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse until well mixed. Add the pecans and blend to a smooth puree.
  5. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and scrape in the date mixture. Fold it into the flour with a silicone spatula until you have a thick batter. Scrape into the cake pan and smooth the top with an offset (or the silicone) spatula.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cake is browned and slightly crusty, with some cracks, on top. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out with moist but not wet crumbs. Cool completely in the pan on a rack.
  7. Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan, place a plate over the top, and turn the cake out onto the plate, then invert onto a serving platter (rounded side up). Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Excerpted from Pati Jinich Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets by Pati Jinich. (C) 2021 Reproduced by permission of Mariner Books. All rights reserved.

Read the review here.