Dining and Cooking
Chefs’ Collections

Date Cake Delicious

The women of the Thursday Afternoon Cooking Club in Wichita, Kan., have been preparing lunches for each other since 1891. Originally conceived as a way to improve the domestic arts in a fast-growing prairie town, the club has become a repository for more than 124 years of cooking trends and recipes. In 1922, the club published a cookbook. This recipe was adapted from it, updated only to give more precise measurements and cooking times. It has more fruit than a typical date-nut bread and takes nearly an hour to bake. The good news is that you can mix it up quickly.

Ingredients

  • Butter, for greasing pan
  • 3 ¼ cup/454 grams flour, sifted, plus additional for dusting pan
  • 2 cups/340 grams pitted dates, each date cut into three pieces
  • 1 tablespoon shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 cup chopped pecans or other nuts
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

      657 calories; 12 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 134 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 82 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 23 milligrams cholesterol; 527 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

2 loaves

Preparation

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 6-cup (8-by-4-inch) loaf pans; set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the dates, shortening and 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Set aside to cool, stirring frequently. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and egg; whisk to combine. Add to the date mixture and stir well until combined.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves and nutmeg. Add the date and sugar mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in the nuts.
  4. Divide batter between the pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, being careful not to overbake; 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack.

90 minutes

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