Christmas Date Nut Cake Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Dust pecans & dates with flour. Shake off excess. Set aside. Note: I like my dates cut fairly small.
• 2. Mix together; flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Combine pecan and date to mixture. This will be very stiff. ***DO NOT ADD LIQUID. Note: dough is so stiff you may wish to mix with your hands.
• 3. Using a bundt pan, butter and flour pan. Add the dough.
• 4. Place a pan of water on the rack below the bunt pan to keep it moist. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10-in. tube pan., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition., Add cream of tartar to egg whites; with clean beaters, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter with almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts., Transfer to prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 60-65 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely., For glaze, in a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cake and, if desired, sprinkle with additional nuts.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in the coconut, raisins, dates, pecans and orange zest. , Spoon into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 300° for 85-95 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Place a piece of waxed paper under rack. , In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and orange juice to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Stir in orange zest. Poke holes in cake with a long wooden skewer; gradually spoon glaze over fruitcake. Cool completely.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line two 5x9 inch loaf pans with greased parchment paper.
• Combine the almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, dates, red and green cherries; mix well.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine with nut mixture and mix well.
• Beat eggs and vanilla, add to nut and flour mixture and mix well.
• Press into 2 lined loaf pans and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Set aside for 5 minutes and remove from pans. Completely cool on wire rack.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Grease and flour two 8 inch round cake pans. Set aside. Put dates in a bowl with soda and pour boiling water on top. Set a side.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar, 2 1/2 cups flour and 1 cup chopped walnuts. Add egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch of salt and tablespoon butter. Mix to combine. Finally, stir in chopped dates with liquid. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cake will pull away from sides of pans and be golden brown.
• In a medium saucepan, combine buttermilk, 1 cup sugar, pinch of salt and 4 tablespoons flour. Cook on medium heat until thickened. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and remaining cup of walnuts.
• Spread mixture between layers and on top of cake. Let filling run down the sides of cake.

Steps:

• Put 1kg mixed dried fruit, the zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon, 150ml brandy or other alcohol, 250g softened butter and 200g light, soft brown sugar in a large pan set over a medium heat.
• Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside - tie with string to secure.
• Add 175g plain flour, 100g ground almonds, ½ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 100g flaked almonds, 4 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour.
• Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs.
• Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of your chosen alcohol. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
• To store, peel off the baking parchment, then wrap well in cling film. Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it.
• Don't feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C and lightly grease and line the base and sides of a deep 22-23cm round loose-based cake tin with Bake-o-Glide or baking parchment (see overleaf). Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, ground almonds and spices until thoroughly mixed and creamy, preferably with an electric beater or in a food mixer.
• Measure off 100g/4oz of the cake mixture, put in a bowl and set aside. Fold the fruit and rum into the remaining mixture, then gently stir in the marzipan. Spoon this mixture into the prepared cake tin and flatten with a spatula to make a smooth even surface, then make a slight dip in the centre of the cake. This simple trick will give the finished cake a nice flat top. Bake for 11⁄4 hours.
• While the cake is in the oven, make the fruit and nut topping. Mix all the nuts, cherries and syrup into the remaining cake mixture (see tip overleaf). Spoon the mixture on top of the part-cooked cake (once it has had its 11⁄4 hours), evenly distributing the mixture of nuts and cherries across the surface of the cake. Loosely cover the top of the tin with foil.
• Return to the oven for 40 minutes more, then take off the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, so the nuts can turn golden. Keep an eye on them, so they don't get too dark. To test the cake mixture is cooked, insert a fine skewer into the cake - if it comes out clean then it's ready. Cool in the tin then turn out, keeping the lining on, and wrap with foil. (The cake will keep for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen for up to 2 months.)
• To serve, remove the cake from the foil and strip away the lining. Place on a board or serving plate and tie with a decorative ribbon.

Steps:

• Toss dates with 1/4 cup flour; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in orange zest. Combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining flour; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in dates and nuts. , Transfer to a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. , For glaze, combine orange juice and confectioners' sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool for 30 minutes. , Cool cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Poke holes in cake top. Drizzle glaze over top and sides of cake; cool completely before serving.