Denise says:

This is a delicious fruitcake with all the flavours from Moroccan. Check the dates on your spice jars before adding to your recipe and if you feel that their pungent flavour has waned a little, dry fry them and they will come alive! This cake is ideal as both a dessert with cream, thick yoghurt or ice cream or for tea. When serving it for a grand finale to a lavish meal, I like to add some ground cinnamon and a touch of rose water to the cream, ice cream or yoghurt just to complete the overall Moroccan feast!

Rose water can be found in the specialist section of supermarkets or Greek shops. It has a very distinctive flavour and used as a replacement for red wine and other alcohols in cooking by Muslim chefs. It is flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water and has been used as a flavouring for centuries in Middle Eastern, Indian and Turkish cooking.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6 people

Ingredients:

75g unsalted butter or margarine - melted
55g sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
200g SR plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
120ml milk or soya milk/ soya cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g chopped pitted dates
75g chopped walnuts

Method

1)Pre –heat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F/ Gas mark 4.
2)Line a 22 cm / 9” loose based tin with non-stick baking parchment paper.
3)In a food mixer beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy. Add the baking powder, melted butter or margarine, flour, cinnamon, vanilla extract and nutmeg.
4)Stir in the milk, chopped dates and walnuts.
5)Transfer to the lined baking tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

To serve the stylish way: Serve with thick yoghurt or cream with a dusting of ground cinnamon and a splash or rose water.
Tagged in: Dates, Desserts, Dinner Party, Moroccan, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, Tea