Lumberjack Cake
My fiancee requested this cake for his birthday after we ate it at Frances in SF for an anniversary. It’s such a uniquely rustic and delicious cake. Please enjoy it warm!
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup pitted Medjool dates, chopped roughly
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter (½ cup or 4.5 ounces), softened
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (50 grams) coconut flakes
1 pear or apple, peeled and medium-diced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees
In a saucepan, bring 1 cup water and 1 cup pitted dates to a boil, and then whisk in 1 tsp baking soda. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a bowl, mix and sift 1 1/4 cup flour, ¾ tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream 1 stick of butter, 1 ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 egg.
Slowly add room temperature date mixture until incorporated. Then slowly add dry ingredients until blended, careful not to over-mix. Fold in coconut and pears with a large rubber spatula.
Pour mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Rotate pan in oven, and then continue to bake in for 10 minutes. Insert a clean toothpick into the middle of the cake, and if it comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, rotate pan and continue to bake in 10-minute increments.
I love to enjoy this (almost) immediately while it’s warm but cooled enough to cut with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream. After it’s cooled, we usually save some in the fridge to eat cold, or heat it up for ~20 seconds in the microwave. Literally the same way we consume almost any cake (:
