BA’s Sticky Toffee Date Cake.
This year, forget pumpkin spice muffins, cheesecake, lattes, pie, etc. and focus on this Sticky Toffee Date Cake. Dates? Yes, dates. Before you say you don’t like dates, you must try this cake. The perfect dessert to serve this fall and winter, you will not regret saying goodbye to pumpkin spice. First, lets start with the smell. The aromas from this cake are what candle makers dream about. It is so intense and festive your friends and family will want to curl up and get cozy by the fire. Then there’s the cake itself. Its full of flavor, sweetness, yet still light enough to eat more than one, two, or three slices. Last but certainly not least, there is the sour cream caramel sauce. Do I need to say more? This sauce is spectacular on its own, but even better coating the bunt-y curves of this delicious cake. Sadly, we can’t take credit for this recipe, it is from Bon Appetit by Molly Baz and well worth posting on the gathr blog. So scoop a dollop of homemade whipped cream on a slice of this dreamy, festive cake and enjoy the holidays.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Pearl Jones
Serves: 12
Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes active
Special equipment: 10 cup Bundt pan
Ingredients:
Cake:
Non-stick vegetable oil spray
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
6 ounces Medjool dates, pitted, coarsely chopped
Salted Toffee Sauce:
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon flakey sea salt
2 ounces Medjool dates pitted, torn for topping
Optional: toasted, salted walnuts for topping
Instructions:
1. Place rack in middle of oven, preheat to 325° on Convection Mode. Coat Bundt pan with nonstick spray and lightly dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and flour on low speed until combined. Add butter and beat on medium-low speed until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add sour cream and vanilla and continue to beat, increasing speed from medium-low to medium as the ingredients begin to incorporate, until batter is thick and smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce speed to medium-low, add 1 egg, then increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds. Repeat with remaining 2 eggs. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, reduce speed to low and add dates and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds longer.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth the surface. Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake springs back slightly when pressed, 40-50 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out cake onto a platter and let cool completely.
Salted Toffee Sauce & Assembly
4. Melt brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and smooth and brown sugar is dissolved, 4-6 minutes. Remove pot from heat and whisk in vanilla, 3/4 cup sour cream, and 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt until smooth.
5. Arrange torn dates in a ring on top of cake. Drizzle 1/2 cup sauce over cake and dates, sprinkle with more sea salt. Serve cake with remaining toffee sauce alongside. If the sauce has cooled and tightened up, gently reheat in saucepan over medium-low just until warm.
*Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool, then cover with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature.