Imen This Ina Garten Date Cake mixes chopped dates, brown sugar, and a buttery batter into a soft, spiced dessert. A hot caramel sauce gets poured over the warm cake before serving. It bakes in under an hour and turns into two 9-inch rounds or 20 muffins.
This version aired on Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa: Modern Comfort Food, but it’s credited to guest baker Cheri Brownlee rather than Ina herself. The standout move is poking holes across the warm cake before pouring on the caramel. That way, the sauce soaks straight into the crumb instead of pooling on top.
The real trick is simmering the dates with baking soda before they hit the batter. Heat and alkalinity break down the fruit’s fibers, so the dates turn almost jammy instead of staying in stringy chunks. Skip that step and the cake bakes drier, with tough pockets of fruit instead of a moist, even crumb.
Ina Garten Date Cake Recipe
Description
A soft, spiced date cake baked with warm caramel poured over the top while it’s still hot. Rich, sticky, and perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Ingredients
Cake
Caramel sauce (makes enough for 1 cake)
For serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans or 20 muffin tins. Simmer the dates in 3 1/2 cups water for 1 minute, then stir in the baking soda off heat (it will bubble up).
- Cream the butter and sugar until pale, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla, then the flour and salt, to form a lumpy dough.
- Fold in the warm date mixture in two additions, scraping the bowl between each. The batter will look thin. Stir in the baking powder last (it will bubble again).
- Divide the batter between the pans or tins. Bake cake pans 30 to 40 minutes, muffin tins about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, simmer the sauce ingredients until thickened. Poke holes in the warm cakes, pour over the caramel, and let sit 10 minutes before turning out. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
FAQs
Why does the batter look curdled and watery right before it goes into the oven?
Adding the warm date mixture to the creamed butter and eggs makes the batter split and look watery, and that’s normal. The dates carry a lot of their simmering water, so the fat can’t hold everything smoothly until the flour goes in. Once the baking powder is stirred through, the batter bakes up dense and moist rather than oily.
Can I swap in Medjool dates instead of the standard chopped dates?
Medjool dates work well here, though you’ll want to cut back the amount slightly since they’re larger and stickier than regular dried dates. Their higher natural sugar content means the finished cake turns out a touch sweeter and denser. Chop them small before simmering so they break down at the same rate as smaller varieties.
How long should the cakes cool before I pour on the caramel sauce?
Pour the sauce while the cakes are warm, not piping hot and not fully cooled, roughly five to ten minutes out of the oven. Warm cake still has open pores from baking, so the caramel sinks in instead of sliding off. Wait too long and the crumb tightens, leaving most of the sauce pooled on the plate.
How should I store leftover date cake?
Wrap the sauced cake tightly and refrigerate it for up to three days, since the caramel stays sticky at room temperature. For longer storage, freeze the cake without sauce for up to two months and make a fresh batch when you’re ready to serve. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rewarming.
What should I serve before this cake at a dinner party?
Since this cake is rich and sweet, start the meal with something savory and light instead of another heavy dish. Spinach artichoke dip uses cream cheese and Parmesan for a warm, cheesy starter that won’t compete with the caramel later. Set it out with crackers or baguette while the cakes bake, so the timing works itself out.
