Taatelikakku – Finnish Christmas Date Cake

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Taatelikakku – Finnish Christmas Date Cake

December 24, 2012 by mydanishkitchen

Finnish Date Cake

First off, I would like to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas and Glædelig Jul. I hope your Christmas is filled with peace and joy 🙂 I feel a bit guilty that I am not posting something Danish here on my blog on Christmas Eve. I could have, but I chose not to because this Finnish cake is so spectacular and so deserving for a Christmas Eve post. So here is the Taatelikakku in all its glory, you wont regret it should you decide to try it out.

I am learning that the Finnish has a lot to offer when it comes to baked goods and this Date Cake is no exception. It is soft, moist and spongy with a delicate Date flavor and not overly sweet. The dough comes together easily in a cooking pot, so very few dirty dishes…I like that 🙂 The original recipe did call for a 4 cup bunt tin, which I don’t have. But I simply just used a standard 8 cup tin and filled it up half-way and it worked out just fine. I can’t say enough good things about this Date cake and it will definitely not be the last time that I make it, besides, I gotta make use of my cool-looking bunt tin.

Finnish Date Cake

Taatelikakku – Finnish Christmas Date Cake (serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cold coffee

85 gram butter (3 oz.)

200 gram all-purpose flour (7 oz.)

1 teaspoon baking powder

130 gram dates (4.6 oz.)

90 milliliter water (3 oz.)

110 gram sugar (3.9 oz.)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

Directions:

Spray bunt tin with baking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (335 degrees F).

If you don’t already have coffee prepared, make coffee and set 1/2 cup aside to cool. Melt butter and set aside to cool. Sift flour and baking powder together, set aside. Break dates into small chunks and remove pits, place in a medium size saucepan. Cover dates with water and add sugar, heat until sugar has dissolved and dates are starting to soften. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Add baking soda to dates and stir. Add cold coffee and vanilla extract to date mixture. Add melted butter to dates and stir well. Then add the egg and stir to combine. Finally add the flour and stir until mixture is a smooth consistency. Pour batter into prepared bunt tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, careful not to over-bake. Enjoy!