Eggless Date, Almond, Walnut Cake With Ginger Buttercream Icing

I had made this rich eggless date, almond, walnut cake with ginger buttercream icing for a cake order for Christmas party . Addition of powdered almonds and walnuts increased its richness. The cake can be made vegan by replacing milk with almond milk. The cake can be enjoyed plain as a tea cake with a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can serve the cake as a winter dessert with a scoop of vanilla or cookie and cream icecream or warm custard or chilled whipped cream. To make it taste like a christmas cake I have soaked the cake with a syrup prepared by boiling apricots, cherries, raisins, honey, lemon juice, orange rind in the freshly squeezed orange juice. I have used roasted almonds to decorate the cake. I have halved the almonds and then add a tsp of oil in it and mix well. I have then toasted them in the oven at 150 C for 10 minutes tossing in between.

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

Eggless Date, Almond, Walnut Cake With Ginger Buttercream Icing

Eggless Date, Almond, Walnut Cake With Ginger Buttercream Icing is a rich cake made with dates, almonds, walnuts and flavored with cinnamon and ginger. It is soaked with the syrup made by boiling apricots, cherries, raisins, honey, lemon juice , orange rind in the freshly squeezed orange juice. The cake is then decorated with homemade butter cream icing flavored with ginger powder and roasted almonds, walnuts, pepitas and chopped dates. The cake is perfect to celebrate a Christmas party or a perfect winter dessert. The cake can be enjoyed plain with a scoop of icecream or warm custard or whipped cream or can be enjoyed with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, festivalfood, hightea, sweet

Cuisine Global

Keyword afterschoolsnack, allpurposeflour, almond, cake, christmasparty, cinnamom, dates, dessert, festivalfood, ginger, healthy, hightea, lunchbox, partyfood, Sweet, walnut, wintercake

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 828kcal

Equipment

• mixing bowl
• sift
• bowl
• spatula
• measuring cup and spoons
• baking tin
• electric beater or hand whisk
• spoon
• serrated knife
• knife
• pot

Ingredients

Cake batter

• 1 cup dates pitted and finely chopped. I have used black dates
• 1 cup milk boiling
• 1.5 cup all purpose flour maida
• 1 tsp baking soda soda bicarbonate
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup oil any flavorless oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup almonds powdered
• 1/2 cup walnuts powdered

Soaking syrup

• 1 orange juice, freshly squeezed (it will be around 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 6 dried apricot finely chopped
• 6 cherries fresh, finely chopped. (Or use canned cherries or dried cherries)
• 12 raisins
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp orange rind

Ginger Buttercream Icing

• 3 cup icing sugar or confectioner's sugar. Sift the icing sugar to avoid any lumps
• 200 g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp ginger dry ginger powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder or mixed spices
• 2 tbsp full cream milk approximately, or whipping cream
  

decorating the cake

• 1/2 cup almonds toasted
• 8 walnut halved
• 1 tbsp pepita
• 2 date chopped

Instructions

Cake batter and base

• Pour boiling milk over the chopped dates in a bowl.
  
• Mix well and keep aside for around 30 minutes.
  
• Sift together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Sift together for 3-4 times. Keep aside. In a big bowl add oil and brown sugar.
  
• With the help of an electric beater or a hand whisk beat oil and sugar till sugar dissolves.
  
• Add the soaked date mixture.
  
• Beat well till everything is nicely mixed.
  
• Add the powdered almond and walnut and vanilla essence. Mix well.
  
• Gradually add the sifted flour mixture in batches.
  
• Mix everything well with a help of a beater or hand whisk.
  
• Pour the batter in a greased and dusted 8" square pan. Spread it evenly with a help of a spatula. Tap it twice.
  
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for around 40-45 minutes or till done.
  
• Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife at the edge of the pan. Unmould the cake and let it cool of a wire rack. The eggless date almond walnut cake is ready. Enjoy it warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream or warm custard or for dessert or with a cup of hot tea or coffee. The cake can stay for 2 days at room temperature or can be refrigerated for a week . It can be freeze for 3 months.
  

Soaking syrup (while the cake is baking let us make sugar syrup)

• Take freshly squeezed orange juice, water, honey, sugar, chopped dried apricots, raisins, fresh chopped cherries, cinnamon powder in a pan. Put it to heat on medium heat stirring in between.
  
• Add lemon juice and orange rind. Mix well.
  
• Bring the mixture to boil and then simmer on low heat for 7-8 minutes stirring in between.
  
• Remove from the heat. Mix well ,cover and keep aside the mixture to cool. The soaking syrup is ready.
  

Ginger buttercream icing

• In a bowl take the soften butter. (The butter should just be soft and not melted other wise the icing will be runny).
  
  
• Beat the butter with the help of an electric beater on low speed for 2-4 minutes till it is light and fluffy. Add gradually sifted icing sugar in it in batches and mix with the beater on low speed. (Do not beat on high speed after adding sugar or else the sugar will blow everywhere ).
  
• Keep on adding the icing sugar in batches and mix on low speed.
  
• Once all the sugar in added and nicely mixed, beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Now add the vanilla essence and mix well.
  
• Now add full cream milk a tbsp at a time and beat on high speed till nice soft peaks are formed.The butter cream mixture has started to get soft peak. Beat for 4-5 minutes more.
  
• Now add cinnamon powder or Mixed spice powder and ginger powder and beat well till smooth and stiff peaks are formed. The ginger buttercream icing is ready.
  

Assembling the cake

• Cut the cake in halves with a help of serrated knife.
  
• Apply a little buttercream on the cake board. This will help to stick the cake to the board.
  
• Put the top part of the cake upside down on the cake board. Soak the cake with around 4-5 tbsp of the prepared syrup. Spread evenly the apricots, sultanas and cherries from the syrup on the cake base.
  
• Spread a dollop of ginger butter cream icing on the soaked cake. Spread the roasted cut into halves almonds on the butter cream. Put the other layer of the cake on it. Soak it with the prepared syrup. (Do not add the soaked dried fruits on it).
  
• Now decorate the cake with the ginger butter cream icing evenly. Smooth the edges with a spatula.
  
• Decorate the cake with the halved roasted almonds, walnuts and pepitas and some date as per your choice
  
• I have decorated the cake for a christmas party and hence made christmas tree on it. Put the buttercream in the piping bag with the star nozzle or any nozzle of your choice and pipe the border all around the bottom of the cake.
  
• The eggless date, almond, walnut cake with ginger buttercream icing is ready. (the cake can stay at room temperature for 2 days and can be refrigerated for a week) . Then refrigerate the remaining cake and just warm it for 12-15 seconds before serving.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 828kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 79g | Vitamin A: 927IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 2mg

Print