Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cake
Submitted by glen
Small-batch date cake with cocoa in the batter and a chocolate chip, nut, and sugar topping pressed on before cooking. Ready in 7 minutes in the microwave. A quick, nostalgic treat when you want homemade cake without heating up the oven.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
10 minREADY
40 minSeven minutes in the microwave. That’s it. That’s the bake time.
This little 8-inch square cake packs chopped dates softened in boiling water into a cocoa-laced butter batter, then gets topped with semi-sweet chocolate bits, chopped nuts, and sugar pressed lightly into the surface.
The microwave steams it from the inside out, keeping the crumb moist and the dates gooey while the topping melts into a sweet, nutty crust.
It’s a throwback to the golden age of microwave baking, and it still holds up.
Kitchen Tips
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap as directed. The trapped steam is what cooks the cake evenly. Without it, you’ll have dry edges and a raw center.
- Use a non-metallic pan. Metal in a microwave is never a good idea, and glass or ceramic bakeware works perfectly here.
- Test with a toothpick at 7 minutes. Every microwave runs differently, and you may need an extra minute or two.
- Let it cool in the pan for a full 10 minutes. The cake continues to set as it rests, and cutting too early gives you a crumbly mess.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl pour ¼ cup boiling water over chopped dates.
Let cool.
Lightly grease an 8-inch square, heat-resistant, non-metallic baking pan.
Set aside.
Cream ½ cup sugar and ⅓ cup butter until light and fluffy.
Add egg to creamed sugar mixture. Blend well.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and powdered cocoa.
Add date and flour mixture alternately to creamed butter and sugar mixture.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth top of batter with spatula.
In small bowl combine ¼ cup sugar, semi-sweet chocolate bits and nuts.
Sprinkle topping mixture on top of batter and press topping into batter lightly.
Heat. covered with clear plastic wrap in Microwave Oven 7 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Let cool in cake pan 10 minutes
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