Double Date Cake With Whiskey Butterscotch Sauce

Date cake tastes like holidays, will 

make you forget fruitcake jokes

Despite the jokes, we enjoy fruitcake in our house. Likewise, the dark fruit flavors of mincemeat, plum puddings, stollen and lebkuchen. They prove a bold contrast to all the sugar cookies, peppermint bark and homemade fudge — which we also love.

Cakes made with dates are relatively new to our repertoire. We’ve had a few good ones this year — most recently at The Vanguard in Indianapolis. They served a warm wedge of a robust, super moist date cake with a generous ladle of warm toffee sauce. Tasted like the holidays to us!

At home, I pureed pitted dates with hot water and a bit of espresso powder for an even darker, pleasantly bitter flavor in this simple one-layer cake. A topping of diced dried dates (look for packages of diced dates with oat flour; the pieces stay separate), mixed with walnuts and cacao nibs, adds a great texture and an attractive appearance. The cake keeps well for several days. I like to it warm; slices can be heated very briefly in the microwave.

The whiskey-spiked toffee sauce gilds the lily. The sauce makes a nice packaged in small jars. Microwave the sauce until it’s warm, so it flows over the cake nicely.

   Double Date Cake With Whiskey Butterscotch Sauce
Makes: 10 to 12 servings
3/4 cup diced dates with oat flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons cacao nibs or small bits of dark chocolate, optional
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (8 ounces) whole pitted dates, about 1 3/4 cups
2 tablespoons rye whiskey or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
Powdered sugar, optional.
*Whiskey Butterscotch Sauce, see recipe below 

Diretions:
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. For the topping, mix diced dates, walnuts and cacao nibs in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Mix flours, baking soda, spice blend, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Put pitted dates, whiskey and espresso powder in a heat-proof bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water and let stand until dates are super soft, about 10 minutes. Pour date-whiskey mixture into a food processor; process to a smooth puree. Let stand to thicken, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, put butter into a large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes total. Add half of the flour mixture and all of the date-whiskey puree. Beat to combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat just enough to combine. Do not over-mix.

4. Scrap the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top. Sprinkle the reserved diced-dates-and-walnuts mixture evenly over the batter. Bake until cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan and a wooden pick inserted in several places comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

5. Let the cake cool on a wire rack at least 1 hour. Remove the sides of the springform. Cut cake into wedges to serve. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar, if desired. Drizzle with the whiskey butterscotch sauce.
  

Whiskey Butterscotch Sauce

Makes: 1 1/2 cups
You can sub bourbon or brandy for the rye whiskey, if you prefer.
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup dark agave syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 cup rye whiskey 

Directions:
1. Put sugar, syrup, butter, salt and 1/4 cup water into a medium-size deep saucepan. Heat to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and let simmer, 2 minutes. 

Uncover the pan. Add cream and continue to simmer on low, stirring often, until sauce is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. 

Stir in whiskey, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Allow sauce to cool at room temperature. Transfer to jars or microwave-safe container. Sauce will keep for up to one month in the refrigerator.

Microwave on medium (50 percent power) to warm the sauce. Serve warm.