Date and hazelnut cake with crumble
The date and hazelnut dessert lends a cosy vibe to any cool evening in. I like whipped single cream with the cake, but a rich vanilla ice-cream is pretty good as well.
Ingredients
For the date filling
500g fresh medjool dates
1 tbsp castor sugar
For the crumble topping
½ cup plain flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
80g cold butter, cut into small pieces
â…“ cup castor sugar
½ cup toasted hazelnuts
For the cake mixture
â…” cup self-raising flour
â…“ cup plain flour
120g soft unsalted butter
120g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, plus another egg yolk
½ cup sour cream
whipped cream, to serve
Method
Step 1
Grease and double-line the base and sides of a 22cm round springform cake tin. Preheat oven to 170°C.
Step 2
For the date filling, remove the seeds from the dates. Combine pitted dates, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and stir constantly for about 5-6 minutes, until mixture is thick. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Step 3
For the crumble, blend flour, cinnamon, butter and sugar in a food processor, using the pulse button until mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Roughly chop nuts and stir into mixture.
Step 4
For the cake mixture, sift together the two types of flour, set aside.
Step 5
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla extract. Add egg, then egg yolk, beating well after each addition. Stir in one-third of the sour cream, then one-third of the flour mixture and mix well. Repeat process twice more to use all the sour cream and flour mixture.
Step 6
Spoon the cake mixture into prepared cake tin, smooth out top. Spread date filling over batter, then cover with crumble.
Step 7
Bake for 70 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a cooling rack.
Step 8
Cut cake using a hot, clean knife and serve with whipped cream on the side.
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Neil Perry is a restaurateur, chef and former Good Weekend columnist.
