Thursday, June 3, 2010

Chocolate date cake with sticky chocolate toffee and crunchy salted almonds

My boyfriend just returned from a "business" trip to Morocco.   One of the presents that he brought back was Medjool Dates.  I loooooove dates.  I think they are extremely succulent, sweet and just sultry and makes me feel like I am in a market filled with exotic spices and sounds every time I bite into one.   Since I had a enormous amount of dates to consume, I wondered, what can I make with them?  Well, I picked up an old Martha Stewart magazine out of my pile, and funny enough the "Dessert of the month" was this chocolate date cake.

I decided to give it a try, because the earthiness of the dates sounds like a great partner to one of my favorite ingredients, chocolate.  Of course, I tweaked it a little to my style, considering that my father is of Arab descent, I thought, what better way to pair dates and chocolate than with nuts?  So, in the cake batter I added some slivered almonds, instead of brandy for the date puree I used sweet Marsala wine ( a nod to my Italian heritage) instead of brandy, and in the toffee I used hazelnut liqueur instead of brandy, once again. For the topping apart from the toffee and dates, I added some crunchy toasted salted marcona almonds, (nod to Spain, my current country) cause I looove sweet and salty together! I like the taste of nuts, and the woodiness it brings forth in the dishes, but I know some of you may be allergic or even just plain not like them, so its up to you whether you would like to include them or not.  So, here I give you my tweaked recipe, and if you don't want the nuts, just omit them and use the regular brandy instead of hazelnut liqueur.

The finished product is so simply delicious and sexy......I suggest you eat it with some nice Moroccan mint tea, or as a ending to a hot, sultry evening!

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate date cake with sticky chocolate toffee and crunchy salted Marcona almonds
Serves 10-12

For the cake:

1 1/4 cups water
22 pitted medjool dates, plus 4 more for garnish
3 tbsp sweet Marsala wine (or brandy)
2 tbsp strong brewed coffee
4 tbsp good quality cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp. plus more for pan
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61% cacao), finely chopped
1/4 cup almonds, slivered (non salted)

For the glaze

4 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cups light brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup ( light or dark- I prefer dark)
1 tbsp water
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet or milk chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp hazelnut liqueur
1/4 cup toasted and salted Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped


1. For the cake: preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Butter 9x3 inch cake pan, line with parchment, and butter parchment. 
2.  Combine water, dates, Marsala, coffee and 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and bring to a boil.  Take off heat, and let cool.  Puree cooled date mixture in a food processor or with an immersion blender.  Place 3/4 cup puree in a small bowl, and press plastic wrap directly on surface; reserve.  Place remaining puree in a large bowl.
3. Whisk flour, salt, cinnamon, and remaining 2 tbsp cocoa in a bowl. 
4. Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (batter will look curdled).
5. Stir baking soda into date puree.  On low speed, beat flour mixture into egg mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the date mixture.  Beat in chocolate.  Mix in slivered almonds.  Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top.
6.  Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Let cool in pan on top of a wire rack for 30 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen, and invert cake onto rack.  Remove parchment, turn cake right side up, and let cool completely.  (cake can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temp for up to 2 days.)
7.  Make the glaze:  Bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.  Boil 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in cream, then hazelnut liqueur.  Add chocolate, whisk until smooth.  Let cool until thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
8. Assemble the cake:  Using a serrated knife (or my handy dandy little trick, non minted dental floss to cut the top of cake, just cut a tiny piece at one end, insert the floss tightly wound in your fingers, and drag it across the top of the cake and slice the top off!) trim the rounded top off so it is flat.  Spread remaining date puree on top, then pour the glaze over top, letting some drip off the sides.  Garnish with halved dates and salted toasted Marcona almonds.