Image is for illustrative purposes only.
A sticky date sponge is a dark, moist butter cake built on a purée of dried dates softened in boiling water with a little bicarbonate of soda. The soda breaks the dates down into a soft paste and deepens their colour, which is what gives this sponge its toffee-brown crumb and its gentle caramel flavour.
The crumb is tender, close and damp rather than airy, so it holds up well under syrups, caramel sauce and heavy fillings. I use it as a cake base where a rich, moist layer is wanted: sliced and layered with butterscotch or caramel cream, or served warm on its own as a pudding-style dessert.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
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Weight Per Unit: 832
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: 20 cm round tin, about 5 cm high
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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580 |
2.5 cups
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Water
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boiling |
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B
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220 |
7.7 ounces
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Dried Dates
pitted
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roughly chopped |
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C
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9 |
0.3 ounce
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Sodium Bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate (a.k.a baking soda, bread soda, cooking soda, and bicarbonate of soda), referred to as "baking soda", is primarily used in cooking (baking), as a leavening agent. It reacts with acidic components in batters, releasing carbon dioxide, which causes expansion of the batter and forms the characteristic texture and grain in pancakes, cakes, quick breads, soda bread, and other baked and fried foods. Acidic compounds that induce this reaction include phosphates, cream of tartar, lemon juice, yogurt, buttermilk, cocoa, vinegar, etc. Natural acids in sourdough can be leavened with the addition of small amounts as well. Sodium bicarbonate can be substituted for baking powder provided sufficient acid reagent is also added to the recipe. Many forms of baking powder contain sodium bicarbonate combined with calcium acid phosphate, sodium aluminium sulphate or cream of tartar.
Sodium bicarbonate was sometimes used in cooking vegetables, to make them softer, although this has gone out of fashion, as most people now prefer firmer vegetables. However, it is still used in Asian and Latin American cuisine to tenderise meats. Baking soda may react with acids in food, including vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid). It is also used in breadings such as for fried foods to enhance crispness.
Heat causes sodium bicarbonate to act as a raising agent by releasing carbon dioxide when used in baking. The carbon dioxide production starts at temperatures above 80 °C. Since the reaction does not occur at room temperature, mixtures (cake batter, etc.) can be allowed to stand without rising until they are heated in the oven.
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D
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105 |
3.7 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted
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room temperature |
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E
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145 |
5.1 ounces
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Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content (natural brown sugar), or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar (commercial brown sugar).
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F
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145 |
5.1 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
caster
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G
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165 |
3.3 Whole Eggs
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Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
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room temperature |
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H
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290 |
10.2 ounces
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Self-Raising Flour
Self-rising or self-raising flour is white flour that is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents. Self-rising flour is typically composed of the following ratio: 1 cup (100 g) flour, 1 1⁄2 teaspoons (3 g) baking powder, a pinch to 1⁄2 teaspoon (1 g or less) salt.
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sifted |
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I
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2.5 |
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Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
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J
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1.5 |
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Salt
Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
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1662
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Soak |
Bring A (water) to the boil, pour it over B (dried dates) in a heatproof bowl and stir in C (sodium bicarbonate). |
The mixture will foam up; stand for 20 to 30 minutes until the dates are very soft |
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2 |
Purée |
Blend or mash the soaked dates and their liquid to a coarse purée and leave to cool. |
Lukewarm, no hot spots that would melt the butter |
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3 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease two 20 cm round tins and line the bases with baking paper. |
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4 |
Cream |
Cream D, E and F (butter, brown sugar and caster sugar) together. |
Pale and light, sugar no longer gritty |
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5 |
Add |
Add G (whole egg) a little at a time, beating well between each addition, then mix in I and J (vanilla essence and salt). |
Smooth and glossy, not curdled |
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6 |
Fold |
Sift H (self-raising flour) over the batter and fold it through in two or three additions. |
Just combined, no dry flour showing |
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7 |
Combine |
Fold the cooled date purée through the batter. |
Even colour throughout; the batter will be soft and pourable |
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8 |
Fill |
Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins and level the tops. |
Tins no more than two thirds full |
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9 |
Bake |
Bake at 170°C (340°F) for about 35 to 40 minutes. |
Springs back when pressed and a skewer comes out with no wet batter |
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10 |
Cool |
Rest in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper. |
Cool completely before slicing or layering |
Important Notes
The quarter batch given here makes about 1,655 g of mixture, enough for two 20 cm round cakes about 5 cm high, or one 30 x 25 cm slab. Do not skip the bicarbonate of soda: it softens the dates into a purée and gives the sponge its dark colour. Let the date mixture cool to lukewarm before it goes into the batter, or the butter will melt and the cake will be heavy. This sponge stays moist for several days wrapped well at room temperature, and it freezes well; wrap each layer in plastic and freeze for up to two months. It is soft when warm, so chill the cakes before cutting them into layers.
Tools & Arrangements
Kitchen scales, heatproof bowl, stick blender or potato masher, electric mixer with paddle attachment, sieve, spatula, two 20 cm round cake tins, baking paper, cooling rack, skewer
