Rich Date and Walnut Cake

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5 out of 5 Stars by 2 readers!

A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the Date and Walnut Cake is often made for Christmas, special events, and birthdays. Easy to make at home, this traditional East Indian version from Mumbai is a much sought after Christmas delicacy!


Almost as popular for Christmas as the traditional boozy Christmas cake, the date and walnut cake is one of our favorites all the year round! It’s as delightful as my sister’s date and orange semolina cake, isn’t it?

What ingredients do you need for our Date and Walnut Cake?

To make this date cake with walnuts, what you need is eggs, butter, sugar, maida (refined flour), semolina (rava or sojee), cocoa powder, baking powder, dates, walnuts, and vanilla essence.

How to make a Date and Walnut Cake?

Prep of dates and walnuts

Start with the prep of the dates and walnuts. Break the walnuts into small pieces and do the same with the dates. Discard seeds, if any. We usually use seedless black dates, but seedless red dates will work too. Dates are quite sticky, so use some maida (flour) to coat the dates while breaking them into pieces so that they do not clump together.

Whole walnuts in a yellow bowl.
Whole walnuts
Broken walnuts in a yellow bowl.
Broken walnuts
Dates and flour in a plate.
Dates and flour in a plate
Pieces of dates coated in maida in a steel plate.
Pieces of dated coated in maida

For the cake batter

Add the eggs and the one additional yolk to a vessel and beat them. We use a fork or a whisk. You can use a hand mixer if you want.

Raw eggs in a steel vessel.
Break eggs in a vessel
Beaten eggs in a steel vessel.
Beaten eggs

Add in the butter followed by the sugar and mix well. Then add in the Vanilla essence and mix again. After this mix the dry ingredients – cocoa powder, baking powder, maida (flour), and sojee (semolina) – in another vessel. Add these ingredients to the cake batter little by little. Lastly, add the pieces of dates and broken walnuts.

Butter mixed with eggs in a steel vessel.
Mix butter with eggs
Sugar added to the beaten eggs and butter.
Mix sugar with the butter and eggs
Brown cake batter in a steel vessel
Add sojee, maida and cocoa powder
Dates coated with maida and broken walnuts in a steel vessel.
Add dates and walnuts

Pour into lined tins and allow to bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for about 50 mins. This recipe makes two small 6-inch tins or one large 8-inch tin.

2 square cake tins filled with batter.
Fill cake tins

When the timer goes off, you can check if it’s ready by staking the cake in the center with a toothpick or knife. If it comes out clean, it’s done, but if there’s a bit of batter stuck on the toothpick you need to leave it in for a little more time, say 10 to 15 minutes. Check again later and if it’s ready, remove it out to cool. And your dates and walnut cake is ready to serve!

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Baked cake in a square tin with tissue paper.
Baked cake
Brown cake on tissue paper on a brown surface.
Yummy date and walnut cake
Slices of walnut and date cake on a black surface with dates and walnut.
Walnut and date cake
Date and walnut cake on a black surface with some walnuts and dates.
Delicious date and walnut cake
Date and walnut cake on a black surface with dates and walnuts.
Walnut and date cake
Date and walnut cake with walnuts and dates on a black board.
Date and walnut cake
Date and walnut cake on a black surface with some walnuts and dates.

Dense Date and Walnut Cake

Abby
A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the East Indian Date and Walnut Cake is easy to make at home.
5 out of 5 Stars by 2 readers!

Click the stars to add your rating! Left you don’t like it, right you love it!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Christmas, Dessert
Cuisine East Indian
Servings 40 Slices
Calories 208 kcal
Cake icon on Abbysplate website.
Desserts icon on Abbysplate website.
Egg icon on Abbysplate website.
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Ingredients
  

  • 130 g All Purpose Flour (Maida / Plain Flour / Refined Flour) Maida
  • 170 g Semolina Sojee
  • 200 g Sugar
  • 230 g Butter
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 Egg Yolk Additional for softness
  • 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
  • 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
  • 100 g Walnuts Roasted
  • 250 g Dates Seedless

Instructions
 

Date and Walnut Prep

  • Break up the dates and coat them with refined flour (Maida).
  • Break the walnuts into small pieces.

Cake Batter

  • Beat the eggs well and then add the butter, sugar and vanilla essence.
  • In another vessel, mix the cocoa powder, baking powder, maida (flour) and sojee (semolina) together.
  • Add these dry ingredients to the cake batter and mix well.
  • Lastly, add the pieces of dates and broken walnuts and sitir.
  • Pour the batter into tins that you have pre-greased and lined.
  • Bake in an oven at 220 deg Celsius for about 50 mins and your cake is ready.

Please click to rate the recipe! Left you don’t like it, right you love it!

Notes

  • Prepare the walnuts and dates before you begin mixing the cake batter.
  • Using seedless black dates instead of deseeding the dates helps reduce preparation time.
  • Mix the flour and baking powder together before adding to the batter for a well-risen cake.
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Stuff You Might Want to Use

Large Wide-bottomed Pan (Thala)
6 Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set
Wooden Spoon
Whisk
Greaseproof Baking Paper
9

Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 208kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer: Nutrition Information per serving is estimated by a third party software based on the ingredients used, and is for informational purposes only. It will vary from product to product, based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients. Please consult the package labels of the ingredients you use, or chat with your dietician for specific details.

This printable recipe card is for home use only. For more recipes head over to AbbysPlate.com

What’s perfect about this Cake recipe?

  • The cocoa powder adds a nice chocolaty flavour to the cake.
  • The bitter-sweet taste of the walnuts and dates is a flavourful combination.
  • Dates are highly nutritious.

Cooking Tips and tricks

  • Prepare the walnuts and dates before you begin mixing the cake batter.
  • Mix the maida and baking powder together before adding to the rest of the batter to have a better rise.
    Using seedless black dates instead of deseeding the dates helps reduce preparation time.
  • Toast the walnuts to get more of a crunch. It also ensures that the cake lasts longer.
  • Most packets of seedless dates tend to be of about 400 to 500 grams. So instead of leaving the leftover dates as a snack, why not make date rolls on the same day?
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Questions about Baking a Date and Walnut Cake

Can I Use Dry Dates instead of Wet Ones?

No, for this cake recipe it is better to use wet black dates or wet red dates only.

Can I Use Chocolate Instead Of Cocoa Powder?

No, it is better to use Cocoa powder as cocoa powder is not sweetened.

Do The Walnuts Give A Bitter After Taste?

No, the sweetness of the dates contrasts well with the walnuts, you will not find it bitter at all.

What Other East Indian Recipes Can I Make With Semolina/Rawa/Sojee?

Other recipes you can try are the snow balls, chocolate honey balls, bolings, borose cookies, sojee sweet, thalie sweet, carambolas, and many of our cakes.

If you want our traditional East Indian recipes on hand, the Abby's Plate Cookbook Series books are available online or in-store in most countries.

Latest Book:
East Indian Celebration
Festive Recipes from Abby's Plate


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2 thoughts on “Rich Date and Walnut Cake”

  1. Never thought of toasting the walnuts before. Great idea! I made this cake for 17th our anniversary last week. Made it in the shape of a heart, and everyone loved it.5 stars

    Reply

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