Date Cake

Simple Southwest Cooking, p. 124

1 cup dates, cut into small bits

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ cups boiling water

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 6-ounce package chocolate chips

½ cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup sugar

Dates! The amazing natural sweetener, back again to rock your world. 

Put dates and 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine date mixture with oil, 1 cup sugar, eggs, flour, ½ teaspoon soda, and salt. Mix and pour into greased, floured 13x9 cake pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips, nuts, and 1/3 cup sugar over top of batter. 

Festive, eh?

Bake for 35-45 minutes.

Done and beautiful.

My Rating: 4/5 "The unique topping to this cake is what really makes it. I LOVED the chocolate chips/sugar/nuts combination so much more than icing. The cake itself is very nice - a little dry, but still a warm delicious flavor thanks to the dates. But the combination of the cake and the topping is rich, tasty, and well worth the effort."