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READY IN 2 hr

English Walnut Date Cake

Read Reviews (11)

"This has been a favorite of my husband's since I can long remember. His mother always manages to bake him one every year (she's 75) for Christmas......though she claims it's always his last." — HoneeBee

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Original recipe makes 1 - 10 inch tube pan Change Servings

2 pounds dates, pitted and chopped
2 pounds English walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites

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Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
In a large bowl, combine dates, walnuts, sugar, baking powder and flour. Stir in egg yolks. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the whites into the fruit/nut mixture until no streaks remain. Spoon into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

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PREP 30 mins
COOK 1 hr 30 mins
READY IN 2 hrs

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Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Dec 02, 2003

I experimented with this cake having had one of a similar name at a wedding. This was different, but wow, was it great! I took it to work and everyone wanted the recipe. I enjoy it without icing, but added, for work, an icing made of 1 and 1/4 c. icing sugar, sifted, 2 tbsp. softened butter, and maple syrup until it was the consistency to drizzle over the cake. I found by purchasing chopped dates separated by a little flour, that the prep time was considerably shortened. I also found that I could make some extra cupcakes as the recipe was quite large.

—BGILDAY

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Dec 18, 2006

i'm not sure why it turned out like it did, but it wasn't even a "cake" anymore. more like a combination of walnut and dates clumped together. still quite yummy, but i would recommend a bit more sugar. maybe make sure that you have enough flour and eggs to have a more cakelike consistency to the batter before baking. definitely will try again, even thought the ingredients are slightly expensive.

—Janice

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12 Ratings

Jul 01, 2003

I am new to baking and this was just the third cake I tried, ever. It came out really well. I took it to a friend's place for dinner and the cake got over in no time. I scaled the recipe for 8 servings instead of 16 and reduced the amount of dates and walnuts by half since the ingredients are expensive and I am not very experienced. The cake still came out really well. The one thing I realized half way through was that there were very little wet ingredeients and after I added the yolk, the batter was still not wet and homogenous. I almost gave up at that point. If you are new to baking, don't worry about this, the cake turns out yummy despite this. Another hurdle was the dates; they were really soft and were sticking to each other. I dusted each piece with flour before mixing them with the other dry ingredients and the remaining flour. This can be time consuming, but worth the effort.

—GURUJEEA

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Nov 10, 2005

This is more of a confection than a cake - and it is wonderful. Unbelievably delicious, and extremely beautiful.

—Syd

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Dec 07, 2005

Absolutely delicious! This has become a Chritmas time favourite in our family. I use light muscovado sugar instead of white sugar for a more wholesome flavour. I also often halve the recipe and bake the cake in an 8 inch tube pan. Turns out perfectly every time.

—Chocopop

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Dec 06, 2008

This cake is absolutely amazing! I had my doubts while mixing the ingredients because after adding the yolks it stayed quite dry. Next up were the egg whites and THEN it all made sense. It began to stick together. I didn't press it all together or pat it down in the pan but I think I'll do so next time. I followed the recipe exactly and didn't change anything. This is such a simple recipe but wonderful and old fashioned-ish.

—RESONNANT

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Feb 05, 2006

I made this for Christmas and everyone raved about it! I also made a granadilla flavoured icing that i drizzled over it and the tanginess really complemented the cake flavour. Will definately be making this every year for christmas now.

—purplemoon

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Feb 03, 2008

I made this for Christmas this year and got good reports on it from friends. It is an easy cake to make. I had to pit and chopped the dates by hand - this took a while but otherwise it is not time consuming to make. I used a bundt pan.

—Becky

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Nutrition

Calories
633 kcal
32%

Carbohydrates
70.7 g
23%

Cholesterol
51 mg
17%

Fat
38.4 g
59%

Fiber
8.6 g
34%

Protein
12.6 g
25%

Sodium
81 mg
3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

English Walnut Date Cake

Serving Size: 1/16 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 16
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 633
Calories from Fat: 346

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 38.4g 59 %
Saturated Fat 3.9g 20 %
Cholesterol 51mg 17 %
Sodium 81mg 3 %
Potassium 651mg 18 %
Total Carbohydrates 70.7g 23 %
Dietary Fiber 8.6g 34 %
Protein 12.6g 25 %
Sugars 50g
Vitamin A 2 %
Vitamin C 2 %
Calcium 15 %
Iron 29 %
** Thiamin 33 %
Niacin 32 %
Vitamin B6 26 %
Magnesium 42 %
Folate 50 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.