Hazelnut And Date Sheet Cake

Even though the summer sun is still warm have you noticed those occasional chilly days we’re sometimes treated to? Don’t get me wrong I’m still a huge fan of summer - mainly because I can stroll around in flip flops daily and the added hours of daylight make shooting a little easier and less time sensitive.

Danai from d8made, a gorgeous brand creating vegan date butters in the most delicious flavours recently reached out to me about working together and I have to admit I was incredibly excited about the recipes I could create for them. It just so happened the day I planned to recipe develop this cake the sky was dark and stormy and a strong wind was blowing. It felt autumnal. I felt inspired. Add to this the warm flavours of the butters and this Hazelnut and Date Sheet Cake was born.

I used the sweet Cinnamon Date Butter in these. The great thing about using date butter instead of sugar is the nutritional benefit for one - we’re all conscious about our refined sugar intake from time to time so if you can ease the guilt a little that can only be a good thing. If you have a recipe in which you’d like to substitute the sugar for date butter with simply swap it out for the same weight. It’s that easy.

The hazelnuts add amazing texture to the sponge - I didn’t chop these at all as I wanted to really notice that crunch. For a finishing touch sprinkle a little chopped nuts on the top though. If you don’t have hazelnuts, feel free to use walnuts or almonds, all nuts will work equally well!

Hazelnut And Date Sheet Cake RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

• 160g softened butter

• 80g caster sugar

• 80g cinnamon date butter

• 3 large eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 160g self raising flour

• 50g chopped dates

• 50g hazelnuts

Frosting:

• 75g butter

• 150g icing sugar

• 50g light brown muscovado sugar

• 25g date butter

• 1/2 tsp ground sweet cinnamon

• 2 tbsp milk

• A few extra chopped hazelnuts to decorate

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C fan assisted/160 degrees C

2. Grease and line a 20 x 20cm brownie pan

3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on a high speed for around 3 minutes, or until pale and fluffy

4. Add one egg at a time, whisking in between each addition, followed by the date butter and vanilla extract

5. Add the self raising flour to the bowl and whisk on a low speed until fully combined

6. Add in the hazelnuts and chopped dates and stir until fully incorporated into the cake batter

7. Pour the mixture into the prepared brownie pan and bake in a preheated oven for around 25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean

8. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes

9. After this time turn the cake out gently onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely

10. Begin making the frosting by adding the butter, sugar and icing sugar to a large bowl or stand mixer and whisking on a high speed for 5 minutes until the buttercream is lighter in colour and a smooth consistency

11. Add the date butter, cinnamon and the milk and thoroughly combine

12. Once the cake has cooled fully, spoon the frosting onto the cake and spread evenly using a palette knife or offset spatula

13. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top

14. Cut into 12 squares and serve