Date Cake Recipe
This irresistibly fluffy, moist date cake recipe gets baked in a Bundt pan and served dusted with powdered sugar! So sweet and luscious, there’s no need for icing. The perfect holiday dessert to sweeten up a festive gathering—made all the more delicious served with tea or hot chocolate!
Dates have a naturally sweet, crystallized, caramelized flavor all on their own. Boiled down into a simple syrup with water and baking soda, they give this date cake an even sweeter caramel flavor that really shines through! Once you’ve boiled the dates, the process is as simple as beating together your batter and baking in a Bundt pan.
This date cake recipe uses simple, classic baking ingredients: real butter, sugar, and all-purpose flour. Yet, it’s lightened up a bit with dates for natural sweetness and flavor, plus Greek yogurt for creaminess. All together, the result is an amazingly spongy, moist date cake that’s equal parts comforting and festive!
What dates are best to use for baking?
Personally, I think Deglet Noor dates are the best choice for baking or cooking, and Sunsweet’s pitted dates are my favorite brand. Sunsweet’s Deglet Noor dates are rich, plump, and sweet, yet still dry enough to chop and maintain their integrity when needed. Best of all, I love that they’re easy to find and affordable!
How do you soften dates for baking?
Generally, you can soften dates for baking by soaking them in a bowl of hot or boiling water for about 10 minutes. For this date cake recipe, you’ll actually need to bring them to a boil over the stove with water and baking soda. Boiling the dates with baking soda here is really all about flavor, so their caramelized sweetness really shines through in your cake!
How to Make a Date Cake
- Bring chopped dates, water, and baking soda to a boil over medium heat. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar with a hand mixer, until fluffy.
- Beat in 1 egg at a time, until integrated.
- Beat in Greek yogurt and vanilla extract.
- Separately, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add cooled date mixture to a food processor with cinnamon and blend until smooth.
- Add blended date mixture and flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture, alternating in batches. Beat well with a hand mixer as you go.
- Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray or butter and dust with flour.
- Pour date cake batter into pan, tap to remove any air bubbles, and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 1 hour.
- Cool 20 minutes before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar, slice, and serve!
How to Store Date Cake
To store this date cake recipe, either cover the whole cake with plastic wrap, or store it in a large airtight container. It can be stored at room temperature for 3-5 days before it will begin to lose its freshness and fluffiness.
Download this and loads of other festive recipes in my FREE 12 Days of Dried Fruit Holiday eBook!
To see how I make this Bundt cake, watch my Easy Holiday Desserts video!
Moist Date Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Date Cake
- 1½ cups (8oz) chopped Sunsweet® Pitted Dates
- 1½ cups water
- 1½ tsp baking soda*
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder*
- ½ tsp salt
For Serving
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Let 1 stick of butter soften at room temperature overnight, or for a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a saucepan, combine chopped dates, water, and baking soda. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then set aside to cool for about 10minutes. In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar with a hand mixer, until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until integrated.
- Add Greek yogurt and vanilla extract and beat to integrate.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Transfer boiled date mixture to a food processor or blender and blend with cinnamon until smooth.
- Gradually add blended date mixture and flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture, alternating. Beat well with a hand mixer as you go, until combined.
- Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray or butter and dust with flour.
- Pour batter into Bundt pan and tap to remove any air bubbles. Bake 1 hour, until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.
- Dust with powdered sugar before slicing. Serve and enjoy!
- Cover date cake with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
2 Comments on “Date Cake Recipe”
Can you make this into cupcakes?
Hi there! We haven’t tried baking this date cake batter into cupcakes, so I can’t speak to how it would turn out. I suspect it could work, but you’d have to bake cupcakes for less time than the full cake. If you’re willing to experiment you could give it a try! 🙂