There’s something delicious about a simple cake that delivers all the things you want in a sweet treat. This date cinnamon and almond cake absolutely fit the bill. I wanted to make something new for the little man and his besties that we took to Luna Park for the afternoon and then pizza (Assembly Bar, Sydney CBD. Best gluten free pizza I’ve EVER had). Some might say that’s a bit risky given I was making it ON the day of his birthday but luckily it worked and it was just delicious.
Poor little guy after eating his weight worth of pizza just couldn’t eat any and said as we walked home “Mum I feel like I’ve let you down. You made all that effort and worked so hard to make me something special and I couldn’t fit it in.” To which I replied “Little dude, I’m proud you’re listening to your body and you know when to stop. Do you fancy a nice big piece for recess tomorrow? *big nod* Then that’s settled then. Happy birthday little man.What a special day!”
S0, back to the day: It’s so simple – one that’s worth getting good at once you’ve made it a couple of times. You could easily interchange with dried figs for a different flavour, too.
I cannot wait to hear what you guys think.
Enjoy!
Gluten free date cinnamon and coconut cake
Ingredients
- 100 g butter (use coconut, macadamia or olive oil for dairy free option)
- 1/3 cup shredded coconut
- 1/3 cup coconut cream
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 3 eggs
- 10-16 dates (if large fresh Medjool, 10, if small dried dates, 16)
- 1 cup freshly boiled water
- 2 tsp aluminium free baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon and / or vanilla bean powder (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the water and place in a bowl with the dates to soak for 5 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 180C / 350F, fan forced
- Line a standard round cake tin with baking paper and pop a blob of olive oil in and spread over the baking paper.
- Boil water and place it with the dates to soak for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove half the liquid. The rest of the liquid will go in with the dates when the cake batter is mixed.
- Melt the butter (if making in thermomix, melt for 90 seconds on Varoma, speed 1) otherwise just melt in a sauce pan
- Place flours, coconut, baking powder, dates + their half remaining liquid, eggs, spices if using, and coconut cream in with the butter and for thermomix, blend speed 7, 5 seconds, then reverse speed 5, 5 seconds. If using a food processor or blender, simply blend until all ingredients are combined and the dates and coconut well broken down. (unless of course you like a bit of texture, then no worries to leave it to be chunkier)
- Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes - use a metal skewer to dip into the centre and test it - if it comes up with goo, it needs more time.
- You're done - do you feel clever? You should!
Notes
P.S Fancy getting SUPER confident on all things real food, cooking, food prep and the power of food for disease prevention? I’d love to invite you to check out our On-Demand (meaning you can start literally right this minute!) e course REAL FOOD ROCKSTARS. If you’re over the food overwhelm, confusion, guilty feelings, not being able to truly give up the junk, and want to know how and where to shop, what to do to get super confident in the kitchen, how to explain to others your whole food choices, what to eat and how best to build a strong body to ward off disease and feel vital and energetic, then maybe it’s time you jumped in! The door’s always open and the private support community is awesome. See you in there, Alexx x
Comments 16
Curious about the use of the dates. Is this used for sweetness, to help bind the mixture or a bit of both? As a diabetic they have so much sugar in them that affect my sugar control.
Author
They are used for sweetness Janelle, so as a diabetic I’d check in with your practitioner on what amount of dates could be used, or just switch up for the sweetener you’d normally use a small amount of x
This cake topped with your whipped caramel icing was awesomeit disappeared too quick though:(
How many eggs? I’m half way through the recipient and not sure how many to add. It doesn’t specify.
Sorry! It does. 3 eggs. Pregnancy brain! :0/
Author
All good. Hope you enjoyed x
I am about to bake this wonderful cake but I would like to know what could I use instead of tapioca flour? Thank you for your answer in advance.
Author
Hi Magdalena, the only alternative is arrowroot – you really need a like-for-like flour when considering the starch factor. Hope you enjoy it!
Author
Hi Magdalena, the only alternative is arrowroot flour as you need to flours to be like-for-like. x
I am about to bake this wonderful cake but I would like to know what could I use instead of tapioca flour?
Hi Alex. Dates don’t agree with me (FODMAP sensitivities) so is it worth substituting them for RMS or should I avoid the recipe altogether? How much rice malt syrup would you suggest?
Hi Alexx,
My kids adored this cake! And me! Thank you sooo much. I’m wondering though, if I could replace the butter with coconut oil? I wanted to make it for my mums 60th and she is GF and DF x
I forgot to leave a recipe rating! One of the best healthy cakes ever! Love it, thanks Alexx.
Author
Aww glad you love it Jessica x
Can I make it without the eggs? A substitute perhaps?
Author
You could try using a chia or flax egg but it hasn’t been tested so cannot comment on the outcome x