Spicy Date Cake with Pecan Nuts and a Salted Tahini Caramel – Vegan, Gluten and Processed Sugar-free

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Sweetened by dates and some maple syrup, this soft, moist, spicy cake is complemented by a contrasting crunchy, nutty topping and a silky, smooth, luxurious tahini caramel. I love adding a touch of sea salt to the caramel to offset the sweetness, but this is up to you. The cake itself is slightly denser than a classic sponge cake, but is not at all stodgy or heavy, and bouces back beautifully when squeezed.

Unbelievably, as well as being processed sugar-free, this cake contains no gluten and is also vegan. Loaded with oats, dates, tahini and nuts, a powerhouse of healthy ingredients come together to create a cake which will help sustain you through the day, whether you choose to eat it for breakfast, a pick-me-up snack to get you through the day, or as a dessert. I enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee and Charlotte eats it for breakfast with some yoghurt and berries. You can also serve it warm with some ice cream, vegan if necessary, for dessert. However you serve it, I guarantee that you will come back for seconds of this decadent treat.

How to make this Spicy Date Cake with Pecan Nuts and a Salted Tahini Caramel

Please see the printable Recipe Card below for the exact, yet condensed, quantities and instructions.

Where is this recipe from?

Tbh honest, I’m not 100% sure. I’m always creating or jotting down recipes and storing them, until I am ready to try them. I found this one filed under vegan cakes on my computer. I normally always write down the source or inspiration of a recipe, but for some reason I had made no notes on this one. I’m pretty sure it is based on and inspired by something I have seen. If anyone recognises it, I’d be very grateful if you could let me know, so I can credit it properly, if necessary.

Collect all the ingredients together:

Cake:

• rolled oats. Check they are gluten free, if necessary.
• water
• pitted dates. I use Mejdool dates.
• coconut oil. Or you could use another mild oil such as a mild olive oil.
• tahini. Or replace with a mild nut butter, such as almond or cashew.
• maple syrup. You could also use honey or date syrup.
• baking powder. Make sure it is gluten free, if necessary.
• mixed spice. Or you could use ginger spice.
• fine salt, ideally sea salt
• pecan nuts, roughly chopped. Or use your favourite nuts. Pistachios nuts would work well, or almonds or a nut mix. If you don’t want to use nuts, you can either simply omit or add a topping of seeds. Pumpkin, sunflower and sesame would all work, or a mixture of the three. This layer adds a wonderful, crunchy texture contrast as well as vital additional nutrients.

Caramel:

• tahini. Or replace with a mild nut butter, such as almond or cashew.
• maple syrup. You could also use honey or date syrup.
• fine sea salt, or to taste (optional)

Now make this decadent Vegan, Gluten and Processed Sugar-free cake:

1. Cake: first, blitz 175g rolled oats in a food processor until they resemble flour or ground almonds. Remove and set aside.
2. Next add 250ml/1 cup water and 40g rolled oats to the food processor and blitz on top speed until it looks like milk. Obviously, the stronger the processor the better for this.
3. Tip the oat milk into a saucepan and heat gently. When hot, the oat milk will thicken. Take it off the heat, give it a good stir, add the dates and a further ⅓ cup/80ml water. Mix well and leave to cool and soak for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 (fan 160°C)
5. Finally, tip all the ingredients except the pecan nuts, but including the oat flour, dates and oat milk, into the food processor and blitz until smooth. My food processor is strong, so I do this all at once. You may prefer to first blitz the dates and oat milk and then add everything else. Transfer to a lined 900g/2lb loaf tin and level the surface. You can also use a deep-sided 20cm/8 inch greased and lined round cake tin.
6. Roughly chop the pecan nuts and scatter over the top of the cake. Press gently into the surface of the cake batter and then cook in the centre of a preheated oven for 60 – 70 minutes or until risen and cooked. It is difficult to test if it is cooked because of all the nuts on top. However, if you press gently with your finger, the cake should spring back and when you insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake, it should come out clean.
7. Keep an eye on the pecan nuts as the cake cooks to make sure they are not overcooking. I tend to cover loosely with foil around the 40 – 45 minute mark.
8. Once cooked, remove from the oven, leave in the tin for 15 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack.
9. Caramel: when cool, heat the maple syrup, tahini and salt (if using) in a saucepan and beat well until smooth and glossy. Taste and adjust salt, if necessary. Drizzle over the top of the nuts.
10. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee or serve warm with some yoghurt or ice cream, vegan if necessary, and some berries for dessert.

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Made this recipe?

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