Alternate name for this cake: The Christmas Cheat Cake. Because somehow, with a fraction of the time and ingredients, this emerged from the oven smelling like a loaded, boozy Christmas fruit cake. Maybe the rum-soaked dates have something to do with it? Or the copious amounts of fresh orange juice? Either way, this is a goooooood cake. I revisited this recipe recently and it’s even better than I remember!
This is an Ina Garten recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen and while it needs orange liqueur and nutmeg, I didn’t have either but made some easy swaps to make sure there was still tons of flavour. I used more orange juice and a good splash of rum, plus ground ginger for a spicier, more gingerbread-y flavour. Even with a surprisingly small amount of butter, this cake has so much richness and moisture, it blew my mind.
The dates turn into sticky, jammy, toffee-like awesomeness and somehow, end up tasting like bits of candied plums. Remember to chop the dates small to make slicing the cake easier. The juicing and chopping increases the prep time just a bit, but the actual batter is very straightforward.
Each bite is packed with a spiced-citrusy punch and the rum, while not overt, is responsible for the colour and deep flavours all over. It’s Christmas time, we need some rum cake 🙂 Make this today, pretty please!
Date Rum & Orange Cake
Ingredients
- 280 gms pitted dates, finely chopped
- 4 medium oranges
- 1/4 cup dark rum (60 ml)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 gms)
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp clove powder
- 1/2 tsp salt, if using unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup soft brown sugar, light or dark (105 gms, see notes)
- 1/4 cup butter, at room temp (55 gms)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg (I haven't tried an eggless version)
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the chopped dates and the juice of one orange. Pour the rum over the dates and mix well. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
- In another bowl, squeeze out the juice of the remaining oranges. And in a third bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the spices and salt, if using. Set aside.
- Now preheat the oven to 175 C and line a 9x5 inch loaf tin with baking paper and leave a little overhang for easy removal. Set aside.
- In a mixing bow, beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy, then add the egg and vanilla, beating again till combined.
- Gradually pour in the orange juice from step 2, alternating with the flour mixture, using a silicone spatula to stir the batter as you go and break up any lumps. Be gentle and stir till the flour is just incorporated and the batter is smooth and fairly thick.
- Finally, pour in the soaked dates along with all of the liquid in the bowl. Stir again to combine, and the batter will now loosen up a little and look smoother (see below).
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. If the top is getting too dark, cover the tin loosely with foil. Start checking for doneness around 45 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then lift it out using the paper and place on a wire rack. Peel off the edges of the paper and allow the cake to cool completely before slicing with a sharp knife.
- The cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days (longer in cold weather), but if it's very humid and hot, I'd keep it in the fridge after day one. Bring it to room temperature before eating. Happy baking!
Notes
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Hey can I just use orange juice from tetra pack instead of fresh orange juice. If yes how much…
Also instead of orange juice can I use some other juice
Thanks
Hi, fresh juice has a lot more flavour so I recommend it more, but if storebought juice is what you have that’s ok. I haven’t tried any other juice flavours so not sure how it’ll taste.
1 orange is about 1/3 cup (80 ml) juice so you can multiply accordingly
Do you bake with both top n bottom rods on or with just the bottom rod?
It really depends on what the default setting for your oven is, on the “bake mode” in my oven, only the bottom rod comes on
Have you measured the quantity of the orange juice? And which oranges do you use?
I use Valencia oranges, one gives you about 1/2 cup of juice
This was an error, it’s usually 1/4 to 1/3 cup juice depending on the orange
I tried this but even after 1 he 10mins my centre was still liquidy? Siedes were baked.
Did you try covering it with foil and continue baking? I find that helps when the sides and tops are dark but the center is still underbaked, ovens vary a little so sometimes baking time might need to be increased.
This sounds heavenly! As luck would have it, I just got a a box of pitted dates from Dubai 🙂 Quick question – Since I do have orange liqueur, should I simple replace the rum with it? Or does that require a change in the orange juice quantity too?
You can then use 1/3 cup of the liqueur and omit the orange juice poured over the dates 🙂