Spiced Rye Cake with Dates & Walnuts

• Cuisine d'Eli

I don’t know what’s happening to me. I think I might be turning into a baker. Today I decided to bake something and this spiced, nutty, sticky cake is the result of an experiment gone very, very right. Rye flour is low in gluten compared to wheat flour, which means it will produce denser results. Fortunately, light and fluffy is not what I’m looking for in a spiced cake and the rye flour also has a slightly sweet, nutty flavour that pairs wonderfully with the spices, nuts and sticky dates. If you can find the inner strength to not eat it straight out of the oven, you will find the taste will have improved by the next day, as the spices will have had more time to really mingle.

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Ingredients:

200 g whole grain rye flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

85 g softened butter

100 g brown sugar

200 g medjool or mazafati dates, chopped

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

150 ml milk

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground coriander

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of allspice

pinch of cardamom

pinch of salt

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  • Heat the oven to 160 degrees celsius fan
  • Combine the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, milk, dates, walnuts, spices and salt and stir until smooth.
  • Combine the rye flour with the baking powder and add to the mix.
  • Spoon the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes.
  • If a fork or skewer comes out clean, the cake is done.

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  • Leave to cool a little and then turn the cake out on a cutting board.
  • Enjoy a slice or two with a nice cup of tea.
  • Wrap the cake in baking paper to prevent it from drying out.

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16 thoughts on “Spiced Rye Cake with Dates & Walnuts”

  1. Just made some. It’s really delicious. I accidentally substituted ground cardomom with ground coriander, but it’s still great.

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  2. That looks pretty ! And Good ! AND Yummy too !! And I like the little touch of flowers after you wrapped your cake, you always have this soft sense of aesthetics, Eli. Nice post, and a nice creation for an afternoon tea.

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    1. Thanks, Sophie!! Good to hear from you again! This cake was totally delicious, so I’ll definitely make it again. It’s very similar to the traditional Dutch spiced cake I grew up eating, so it also has that nostalgic element for me.

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    1. Thanks! It tastes very nice too! Using different kinds of flour is definitely an option. I do believe there are different types of rye flour (some more intense/darker than others, depending on how the rye has been milled) and that the one I used might classify as medium, since I didn’t find it at all overpowering.

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