Date and Carrot Cake
This is one of my favorite cakes to bake during Christmas. I like to use a Bundt pan for this cake. You can sprinkle a little powdered sugar over it to give a festive appearance without too much effort. Also I usually use Medjool dates, but other kinds should work fine. Enjoy !!
Ingredients:
2 cups grated carrots
2 cups grated (chopped) dates
2 cups + 2 tblspn flour
¾ tspn baking soda
¼ tspn salt
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar ( or 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar)
1 tspn vanilla extract
¾ tspn cinnamon powder
3 tblspn caramel sugar
3 eggs
1 cup oil
Method:
Mix 2 tablespoons of the flour with the dates and set aside. Sift the baking soda, salt and rest of the flour. Cream together the sugar and eggs till smooth. Add oil and beat once making sure the mixture doesn’t curdle. Now add flour mixture and mix well. Add fruit and mix along with the cinnamon and vanilla extract.
Pour batter into greased cake pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees till done ( i.e. till a toothpick inserted comes out clean).
Note:
To make caramel, use 4-5 tablespoons sugar and add very little water to it so it resembles wet sand. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly till it caramelizes to the dark color you want, making sure not to burn it. I usually add a teaspoon of cold water to it to cool it fast.