My Favourite Cakes
The long weekend is finally over…how sad. It was really nice while it lasted. Today I want to share a recipe for Cherry Date Cake, with ground almonds, also known as almond flour or almond meal. Almond flour is most often made with blanched almonds, whereas almond meal can be made either with whole or blanched almonds. Almond flour adds moistness and a rich nutty taste to baked goods. It is high in protein, low in carbohydrates and sugars, and can also be used as a gluten free alternative to wheat flour. Almonds have a high fat content, so it’s important to store them properly to avoid going rancid.
Besides ground almond, I added glace cherries (also called candied or crystallized cherries) and dates to the cake. I had a lot of left over dried and candied fruit from last Christmas. The cake was very delicious. We practically polished it off in one sitting…don’t ask how many we were (LOL). I have since baked this cake several times. It’s one of our favourites and we hope you’ll love it too.
I wish you a fabulous week and happy blogging.
- Ingredients
- 175g (6 oz, 1⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose (plain) flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 100g (3.5oz) glacé cherries, chopped
- 175g (6oz) dates, chopped
- 100g (3.5oz, 1 stick, 7 tablespoons) butter or margarine
- 100g (3.5oz, ½ cup) sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 50g (2oz) ground almonds
- 25g (1oz) flaked almonds
- 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar for dredging
Please always remember to assemble all ingredients before you start
Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time with a teaspoon of flour.
Stir in half the four with a metal or wooden spoon.
Carefully fold in the chopped cherries and dates.
This is what it looks like after folding in cherries
Gently fold in the remaining flour and the ground almonds.
The final mixture looks like this
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle the top with flaked almonds and 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar. Bake for one 60-75 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin. Dredge with remaining turbinado sugar before serving. (use any large grained sugar)
I had baked 3 different cakes on the same day and this was the third one, so I was tired and I forgot to sprinkle the almonds before baking. I added them after baking the cake (LOL)
The cake tasted very nice.
We finished it in one sitting
We hope you enjoy it too….
Cherry and Date Cake
Preparation Time: 30 minutes; Baking Time: 60-75 minutes; Makes: 8 Slices
Ingredients
- 175g (6 oz, 1⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose (plain) flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 100g (3.5oz) glacé cherries, chopped
- 175g (6oz) dates, chopped
- 100g (3.5oz, 1 stick, 7 tablespoons) butter or margarine
- 100g (3.5oz, ½ cup) sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 50g (2oz) ground almonds
- 25g (1oz) flaked almonds
- 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar for dredging
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 330°F (165°C) 10 minutes before baking. Grease and line the base and sides of a 7inch (18 cm) round tin (pan) with parchment (greaseproof paper). Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside.
- Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time with a teaspoon of flour.
- Stir in half the four with a metal or wooden spoon. Carefully fold in the chopped cherries and dates.
- Gently fold in the remaining flour, and the ground almonds. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle the top with flaked almonds and 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar. Bake for one 60-75 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin. Dredge with remaining turbinado sugar before serving. ( You can use any large grained sugar)
- For cup measures: spoon the flour into the cup, heaping it up over the top, then slide a knife across the top to level off the extra. Be careful not to shake or tap the cup to settle down the flour or you will have more than you need. I use a 240ml American cup.
Points to note:
- Please note that oven temperatures are given as a guideline only. You may need to add or reduce the suggested temperatures depending on your oven. I baked the cake at 330°F (165°C) for 70 minutes.
- Last Updated: 2 February, 2018
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This is awesome Liz 🙂
Thank you!
Liz
Wow – this cake is just.. just… just perfect! It looks amazing: the colour, the crumb the even disribution of all those yummy bits of filling. Wow!
Thanks Afra. The cake tasted really good. I enjoyed it so much. Thanks for visiting several times!
Liz
Such a pretty looking cake, I am sure it tastes amazing Xx
It does taste amazing, thank you!
Liz
Hi Liz 😀 I have my coffee but NO cake…….. you’ve eaten it all !! 😉 Ralph xox ❤
Hey Ralph, That slice next to the big cake is yours. Enjoy the coffee and stop complaining….LOL!
Liz
Thanks Liz. Have you got a cake fork ? I’m posh you know !!
Hey Ralph, do you want to eat this cake or not. You have the “natural God given fork..with 5 beautiful prongs” enjoy the cake!
Liz
My butler won’t like what you just said Liz 😉
That butler needs to be fired (LOL)
:Liz
He can go, so long as I keep my french maids 😉
Looks absolutely wonderful. I love all almond products!
Thank you, Mama D. have a great week!
Liz
That looks delish!!!!
thank you,
Liz
Looks yummy! And the slivered almonds and powdered on top look beautiful.
Thank you. It was yummy, while it lasted…polished off in seconds!
Liz
We also love the colors of the cake. This looks like it could go well with iced tea on a hot day. 🙂
Thank you. The cake tastes spectacular! you should try the recipe. Have a wonderful week!
Liz
Another winner in my books! The addition of ground almonds and dates sounds luscious! If I may, I would like to add this to all the Liz inspired recipes in my iPad app for recipes!? Hoping your day is going well so far!
Hi Sandy,
Please go ahead and add it to your “liz inspired recipes” oh how kind of you to have a corner for me on your lovely iPad. My days are great and the sun seems to be here everyday. Have a lovely day and best wishes to family and friends!
Liz
Just as I thought…in the back of my cupboard is Almond Flour. Now I have a purpose for it!!!
The back of that cupboard of yours must be hoarding tons and tons of ingredients. Pull out the almond flour and light up the oven…have a lovely day!
Liz
Thanks, I will!!!
Ha ha Happy Baking!!!!
Liz
Liz, please refer to your recipe:
100 gr. (4 oz., 1/2 stick)
4 oz. is whole stick???
Hi and thanks for noticing my mistake. I have changed it to 1 stick. I think I was too sleepy so I didn’t really go through the conversions. Have a wonderful day!
Liz
No problem!!!
Have a pleasant day!
Liz
I wish I had your energy! Your things are so tempting . . .
Virtual hugs,
Judie
Hi Judie,
Ha ha tend to get sporadic bursts of energy and then I become lazy for an eternity. I wish you a pleasant day. Ours is grey and almost dark in the morning.
Virtual Hugs!
Liz
I love the colours of your cake! The taste with all those ingredients has to be great, especially with a cup go good black coffee!
I had mine with a cup of French vanilla coffee. It was a day to remember. Have a pleasant day. Ours is grey and dark…but not too cold.
Liz
This cake looks so delicious and tempting! I really like what ground almonds do to the batter (and the taste afterwards!). No wonder you polished the plate in one sitting!
Have the greatest of weeks!
Hi there Rosa,
The cake tasted very nice. There was no need to save some for the next day. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” have a lovely day!
Liz
This reminds me of a type of cake they sell in Malta, which I LOVED! Thanks for posting this – I wish I had a nice hunk of this cake right now!!
Why don’t you cut yourself a slice and just go ahead and make yourself a cuppa? have a lovely day!
Liz
You can bring this along on our Road Trip!! LOL
Ha ha I hope it arrived without a hitch! Enjoy the rest of the week!
Liz
Hi Liz! Hope your Easter was great. This is such a lovely recipe. I baked an almond cake once and I loved how soft the texture of cake was, I bet this is like that too 😀 …. I’m not blogging regularly these days but still following your blog! Have a lovely week 🙂
Hey gal you are so lost…where have you been? I’ve missed seeing your comments and seeing your posts, too. Thank you for continuing to follow my blog. I look forward to some posts from you. Take care!
liz
I let work take over my weekends Liz and that’s not good, I know! I will definitely blog more regularly, always happy to see your comments on my posts , bye for now 🙂
Nice to see you after a long time. I’m so glad you’re are safe and sound, just working hard. I look forward to your posts. have a great week and take care!
Liz