I was at a little coffee shop in London recently, and they had Date Walnut Cake on the menu, and it sounded so delicious to me, unfortunately, they were out. I couldn't stop thinking about how good it sounded, so I created my own recipe at home yesterday, and I thought I would share. Here's my recipe:

2 1/2 Cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 Cup maple syrup*
4 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
1 3/4 Cups Soy or rice milk
1 Cup chopped dates
1/3 Cup chopped walnuts

Optional crumble topping:
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
1/4 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line bottom of 2 pound loaf pan with parchment paper, grease sides and bottom of pan.

Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium sized bowl. Add maple syrup, sunflower oil, and milk substitute. Stir together until well bended. Stir in dates and walnuts.

Pour into greased loaf pan.

Optional cumble topping:
Stir together flour and sugar, cut in Earth balance with pastry blender or a fork until the mixture resembles crumbs. Mix in walnuts if desired. Sprinkle over top of batter in loaf pan.

 Bake for 40-50 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed lightly in the middle.

Let cool and turn out of loaf pan. Serve in 1/2 inch slices.

Note: The crumble topping is optional because it uses white flour and processed sugar. If anyone has a healthier recipe for crumble topping, please let me know :)

* - I know maple syrup is expensive, so you can split 1/2 brown rice syrup and 1/2 maple syrup if you want :)

This sounds absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing.

Wow, I bet this recipe would be even more incredible with date syrup instead of the maple syrup. I think I'm going to try it.