Date Bundt Cake with Honey Clove Glaze

I’ve been wanting to utilize the new bundt pan I got a few weeks ago, and decided to head over to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market yesterday morning to find some sweet produce to put in it. There were lots of peaches, berries, and oranges, but what caught my eye was a small booth with strange-looking fruits in various states of decomposition. They came in bunches like grapes, but looked like green olives. Some were fresh, and others were a beautiful, shiny, dark brown color. I recognized the dark brown ones as dates, and then realized that’s what the green fruits were. There was a lady running the stand, so I started asking her about what fresh dates tasted like and she cut me a piece of one to try. I ate it and was pleasantly surprised by the flavor and texture. They’re firm, but not crunchy, and taste a lot like honey. I went ahead and bought a small bushel and brought it home to make this bundt. They’re too firm to blend into the batter with a regular mixer, so I cut them in half, removed the seeds, and then placed them all in a blender with the buttermilk and blended them until a smooth puree had formed. I also added lots of cinnamon to the cake because I thought it would go well with the honey flavor. In the end, it came out perfect. Incredibly moist, and with a warm, almost banana-y flavor to the cake. I will have to use this recipe again to make a regular cake with frosting.

Print

Date Bundt Cake with Honey Clove Glaze

Course Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Cooling Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Author Eva Kosmas Flores

Ingredients

Date Cake

• 14 Fresh Dates
• 4 Eggs
• 3 Cups Flour
• 2 and 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Buttermilk
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 and 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Allspice

Honey Clove Glaze

• 1 and 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Hot Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cloves

Instructions

1. Cut the dates in half and remove the seeds. Discard the seeds, and place the dates in a blender with the buttermilk. Place the lid on the blender and blend at a high speed (I set my blender to ‘liquify’) for one minute until smooth. Turn blender off and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, olive oil, and butter until a coarse paste forms. Add the eggs and mix until completely combined. Set it aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice until well blended.
4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add 1/2 of the date mixture and beat until combined. Add another third of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the remaining half of the date mixture and beat until combined. Finally, add the last third of the flour mixture and beat until combined.
5. Pour the batter into a well-greased bundt cake pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the bundt cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to remove the cake from the pan. Run a rubber spatula around the edges of the pan to gently loosen up the cake’s grip on the pan, then place a plate on top of the bundt pan and, grasping both the pan and the plate on top of it, flip it over and set it down on a flat surface. Gently lift the bundt pan up and the cake should remain on the plate. Allow the cake to continue to cool on the plate while you prepare the glaze.
6. To prepare the glaze, whisk together the honey and hot milk so that the honey dissolves into the milk. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
7. Then add the powdered sugar and cloves and continue whisking until a relatively thick glaze forms.
8. Pour the glaze over the bundt cake and serve immediately.