This sticky date cake is a joy to make and even better to eat! The lightly spiced vegan sponge is packed full of juicy, sticky medjool dates along with a sprinkling of pecans. It’s succulent, moist and rich with beautiful caramel flavours throughout.
This cake started it’s life as the popular Jamaican Ginger Cake from my blog (inspired by the BBC non-vegan version) and after a few tweaks and additions it transformed into this deliciously tender sticky date cake!
The intention was to continue its transformation into a sticky toffee pudding style cake but it was so good I stopped where I was and thought – this has to go on the blog as is!
It’s so incredibly easy to make, taking just 15 minutes to get in the oven, where it’s then baked slow and low to lock in all of the gooey caramelly date goodness. This beautifully moist cake goes equally well with a cup of tea or as a dessert with some coconut yoghurt or dairy free custard. Why not try serving it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream?
Why you’ll love this Sticky Date Cake
Easy to make. This is a straight forward cake to make. First stir together the dry ingredients, then gently warm and add in the wet ingredients. Lastly stir through some roughly chopped dates and pecans and in the oven it goes.
Those caramel flavours. Medjool dates have a reputation for their gooey texture and caramel flavour and this really comes through in this cake, with little nuggets of sticky, caramelly dates in every bite.
A texture to die for. The soft, succulent and tender texture of this cake is beautiful!
It lasts well. The cake stores well in an airtight container at room temperature and stays beautifully soft for several days, making it a great one to make in advance.
How to make this Sticky Date Cake
Step 1. First gather together your ingredients, de-stone the dates and roughly chop them along with the pecans. Line a loaf tin with non-stick baking paper and pre-heat the oven.
Step 2. Next, in a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
Step 3. Add the wet ingredients to a small saucepan and warm gently until everything is combined. Add this to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir together. I find it easiest to do this with a large whisk to make sure everything is combined without beating or over-mixing.
Step 4. Stir through the chopped dates and pecans and then pour the mixture (which will be quite wet, almost like a batter) into the lined loaf tin. Bake until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean, which is usually around 50-55 minutes.
Step 5. It’s important to leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning it out because it has such a tender, moist texture. There is no rush to take it out of the tin, I often leave this one cooling overnight in the tin and then take it out in the morning to slice.
Top tips for making this Sticky Date Cake
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Recommended ingredients or equipment: I recommend using a large whisk to stir together the wet cake mixture and getting your hands on some really good quality medjool dates – the really gooey kind! You’ll also need a 9” x 5” loaf tin like this one.
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Warming the wet ingredients: You will need to warm the margarine, syrup, treacle and milk together in a pan to combine it all. Keep stirring over a gently heat and everything should combine within a couple of minutes once the margarine has melted and the treacle has thinned.
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Variations: I would not recommend any substitutions in this recipe, however I am keen to try it with gluten free flour because I think it may work well. If you try it before me, let me know in the comments!
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Cooling and enjoying: It’s important to let this cake cool before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Once cold, slice using a serrated bread knife.
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Storing: This cake stores well in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
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More delicious vegan sweet treats to try
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Looking for another deliciously sweet and sticky cake recipe? Try the original Jamaican Ginger Cake with Passion Fruit Icing – it’s a community favourite!
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For another classic recipe that uses dates, try this Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake; it’s rich, sweet and moist.
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Wanting something a little lighter? Try these Healthy Millionaire’s Shortbread; they’re gluten free, no bake and can be eaten straight from the freezer!
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Have you tried making vegan caramel sauce before? This Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce recipe uses just 2 ingredients and is incredibly simple – try it drizzled over ice cream or in your favourite dessert.
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Did I hear someone say Banoffee Pie Cupcakes with a Caramel Centre?! Yes please! These little gems are very popular and for good reason. They’ve got fluffy banana cupcake sponges filled with caramel sauce and topped with whipped vanilla buttercream, more caramel sauce, grated chocolate and banana chips. Mmm mmm!
I hope you LOVE this Sticky Date Loaf Cake! If you try it be sure to leave a comment and rating below and tag @aveganvisit on social media – I love to see your re-creations! Enjoy 🙂 x
The Sticky Date Cake Recipe:
Sticky Date Cake
Ingredients
- 225 g self raising flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 115 g dairy free margarine
- 150 g golden syrup
- 75 g treacle
- 250 ml dairy free milk
- 150 g medjool dates (pitted and roughly chopped)
- 50 g pecans (roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional / 350°F / gas mark 4).
- Grease a 9” x 5” loaf tin (23cm x 13cm or 900g / 2lb) and line it with non-stick baking paper.
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and mixed spice.225 g self raising flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp mixed spice
- In a saucepan heat the margarine, golden syrup, treacle and milk. Warm gently until the margarine has melted and the liquids are combined (around 2-3 minutes) and then add this mixture to the flour mix.115 g dairy free margarine, 150 g golden syrup, 75 g treacle, 250 ml dairy free milk
- Using a large whisk, stir everything together until the mix is smooth and combined (but don’t over-mix or beat the mixture).
- Stir in the chopped dates and pecans.150 g medjool dates, 50 g pecans
- Pour the mixture into the lined loaf pan (it’ll be quite runny) and bake for 50-55 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning it out.
Notes
Nutrition
Emissions
Hi, I’m Tara! I’m taking you on a trip around the world in vegan cuisine and bringing the world’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen.
