This cake is quick and easy to make and it tastes great. It’s an Indian recipe that came highly recommended and you can find the original here. I’ve swapped the milk for non dairy, converted the measurements into metric and added frosting and caramel.
Ingredients
for the sponge:
200g dates, stoned
180ml soya or rice milk
90g light brown sugar
100ml sunflower oil
150g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts (optional)
for the caramel sauce:
200ml coconut milk
200g dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
for the frosting:
150g dairy free margarine
320g icing sugar
2 tablespoons of caramel sauce (see above)
Method
Sponge
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C and grease and line two 6 inch tins.
Warm the dates in the milk to soften them, then blend in a food processor or wet grinder with the sugar until you have a smooth paste. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and stir in the oil.
Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together then gently fold this into the date mixture. If you are adding walnuts stir them into the mixture, then divide it between the two tins. The mixture will be fairly stiff so flatten it in the tins with a spatula.
Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean from the centre; allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer the sponges to a wire rack.
Caramel
Place the coconut milk and sugar in a pan over a low to medium heat. It should be boiling gently but not boiling over. Stir continuously for about 20 minutes until it has come together into a sticky sauce. Stir in the vanilla extract and the salt, then allow to cool.
Frosting
Whisk the margarine for 30 seconds, then add half the icing sugar and the cooled caramel sauce and whisk again. Add the rest of the icing sugar and whisk again. It should be a firm consistency but if it is too stiff add a splash of water or some more caramel; if it is too runny add more icing sugar.
To assemble the cake, cut the top off the sponges and sandwich the two together with the frosting and the rest of the caramel sauce, leaving some for decorating the top of the cake. I cut the sponges in half to make four layers of sponge and more layers for frosting.
Enjoy!
