Date and Walnut Cake

Cakes are the best things to bake when you have a fussy YM at home. The YM is my Young Man. A young adult who no longer listens to me. I can no longer coax, cajole or bully him into eating healthy. So what is a poor mom supposed to do? She resorts to sneakiness. She hides all the good stuff inside cakes.
A typical reaction of my YM towards
Apples : bleh!!!
Dry Fruits : yuck!!
Bananas : oh yeah!!
And the list goes on…
So ya he does like bananas but how many varieties of banana cake/loaf can you make. I tried out many. Do check out my Cordon Rose Banana Cake, Banana Walnut Loaf, Banana Cinnamon Bundt cake, Banana Coconut Cake and many more.
So coming back to this cake. I do not have to sell you on the benefits of dates and walnuts.
Walnuts are known as Brain Food rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, etc. They help improve metabolism, boost bone health, help prevent cancer, control diabetes and much more.
Similarly dates are rich in protein, iron and vitamins. They promote digestion, strengthen the nervus system, improve skin etc.
Now I have made this cake with all purpose flour but you can easily replace that with whole wheat flour. So go ahead and bake it.

Ingredients

 200 gms dates, deseeded, chopped
30 gms butter
1 tsp baking soda
240 ml boiling water
280 gms flour
140 gms brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
100 gm walnuts, chopped
1 tsp mixed spice

In case you are confused by the mixed spice then here is an easy substitute. Mix together a pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, clove, coriander and ginger powders. You do not have all these? Well then use whatever among these you have. They will add to the aroma of the cake.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line and grease a cake tin.
Mix chopped dates, baking soda and butter. Pour the boiling water on top and leave aside for some time. Beat the eggs and sugar till pale and frothy. Add cooled date mixture. Add sifted flour, baking powder and mixed spice powder. Add the walnuts and mix well. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 60 -65 minutes.