It seems a little insane to be baking in over 100 degree weather, but I am not one to forgo indulging a dose of crazy from time to time.
And when you want to make cake, you want to make cake!
This cake is chockfull of nuts, zucchini, and medjool dates and, as you can imagine, smells amazing. The spices are reminiscent of a classic pain d’epice.
Added bonus: it is dairy-free. As I’ve mentioned before, my best friend is lactose-intolerant so I have been more vigilant about seeking out and testing recipes that do not use butter, milk, or yogurt.
You can bake this in a standard-sized loaf tin or in a small bundt pan. I used one of my under-used old copper cake molds. Don’t forget to line with parchment!
(adapted from KAF)
You’ll need:
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup dark honey
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup raw granulated sugar (I mixed 1 t of cinnamon into the sugar, as well, but you can add it separately)
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup AP flour
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/4 t baking powder
- 1 t ground cinnamon (if you have not added it above)
- 1/2 t ground cloves
- 1/3 t ground ginger
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (1 medium-sized zucchini)
- 3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 3/4 cup chopped medjool dates
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line your cake or loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Using a Microplane, grate unpeeled zucchini into a large bowl. Add sugar, honey, eggs, vanilla, and oil and mix to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the remaining dry ingredients. Add into the wet ingredients, then fold in dates and walnuts.
4. Pour batter into pan, smooth top. Bake for about an hour – depending on the size of the cake pan/tin you are using – check at 50 minutes, but it may take as long as an hour and 10 minutes for the cake to be baked through in the middle.
This is literally a super healthy and delicious sticky date 😀
Love it!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yes indeed! A little variation on a sticky date cake – you can make it less healthy by melting some of that maple fudge dip over it ;).
Yum! I just bought some zucchini, so this looks perfect right now!
Great! If you have extra zucchini, this is a wonderful way to use them.
I know what you mean, I have been craving biscotti and my granola jar is empty, I think turning on the oven today is inevitable.
Your cake is more than worth turning on the oven for on these hot days. I love all the spices in there
Thank you! And yes, cookie and granola jars always need refilling!
That cake looks like a winner… wouldn’t want to miss it just because of some hot weather 😉
Thank you! I couldn’t agree more.
Awww, this looks so fantastic! So like to have a slice of it! =)
So glad you like it!
I’ve made Zucchini Bread.. but a light cake with dates.. mmm, that would be so much richer! I hope your temperatures begin to cool a bit. I’m glad it didn’t keep you from baking!!
It’s much more pleasant today. Don’t know if it will last though :). The cake got even better the next day!
So healthy & wholesome, yet again. I had heard of zuchini in cakes before and I love the way you highlight the ingredient without masking it here. So perfect for tea time with a little smudge of butter I’d say 🙂
It was thoroughly enjoyed by all 🙂
I never thought zucchini (we call them courgettes over here) could work in a cake just cos it’s a veg but then if everyone’s cool with carrot cake, why can’t zucchini cake be a star as well. So I’m totally inspired to take the risk and try it out, it looks delicious!
Thank you! It’s a very mild flavor that pairs well with a lot of spices and keeps the cake very moist. I love baking with zucchini!