Makes: 1 bundt cake (serves 6-8)
Ingredients:
Cake:
1.5 C medjool dates, chopped
1.25 C water
1 tsp baking soda
.25 C butter, room temperature
2 eggs
.5 C white sugar
.5 C brown sugar
.5 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp salt
Sauce:
1 C dark brown sugar
.5 C half/half (10% cream)
.25 C butter
.25 tsp salt
Instructions:
Cake:
- Place dates in 1.25 C water in a medium sized pot and boil on medium for 2-3m. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Mix well with spoon and let cool. Mixture will get very large and foamy looking. Do not taste this - I assure you it will be as unpleasant tasting as it looks.
- Butter and lightly flour one 6 C bundt pan, set aside. Turn oven to 350F.
- Beat together both sugars, butter and vanilla in a large bowl using an electric mixer. It will be grainy textured and look (and smell) like a delicious sugar facial scrub. Assuming you want cake at the end of this, restrain yourself from applying this to your face. Add in one egg to sugar mixture and beat until blended.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add half of this mix to the sugar/egg blend and mix well.
- Add remaining egg, flour mixture and date mixture and blend well. Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for 35-40min (or until internal temperature of the cake reaches 200F). Flip upside down directly onto cooling rack and let cool at least 20min. The cake should release itself cleanly onto the rack.
Sauce:
Place butter, sugar and cream in a small pot on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent the sugar burning. Bring to a soft boil and continue stirring for about 5min until mixture is thickened to desired texture (ideally like gravy thickness). Turn off heat and add salt gradually to desired saltiness. I find just under .25tsp to be perfect for me.
Place cake onto large place and poke small holes to the top with a wood skewer. FOR FANCY ADULTS: you can inject a .25 C of bourbon or rum into the cake using a flavour injector syringe. For the rest of us, skip the bourbon and just pour caramel sauce slowly over cake in small circles, allowing the caramel to cascade over the sides. Reserve some caramel to serve with the cake or to put over ice-cream. Garnish top with some salt flakes for that extra "wow" factor.
Serve warm with french vanilla ice cream and extra caramel sauce.
