Sticky Date Cake with Black Treacle Buttercream
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This Sticky Date Cake is made with teff flour and almond flour (called ground almonds in UK) so is naturally gluten-free. These flours give it incredible flavour alongside the delicious taste of the toffee-like medjool dates. It’s a gorgeously moist cake adorned with a simple buttercream, deepened with the molasses flavour of black treacle. The ultimate tea-time treat.
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If you are a Sticky Toffee Pudding fan then you will love this cake. Using dates is an old favourite way of creating the sticky toffee flavour and they are used here in the same way, baked into the sponge of this delicious old fashioned sticky date pudding cake.
The texture of the cake is just the same soft light and moist texture that you will be familiar with from a sticky toffee cake but here, instead of hiding the great work of the dates, we are celebrating them. There are no flavour-masking spices or vanilla extract used here just really good medjool dates, black tea, dark brown sugar and teff flour which give this cake a delicious fudgy intensity.
Why this Date Cake works
- Medjool dates are used for their toffee like taste and moist texture.
- Instead of using boiling water the dates are soaked in freshly brewed tea which really enhances the flavour. Especially since you use the whole of the date mixture (tea included) in the batter.
- Teff flour is used for its molasses taste – a beautiful background note to the cake.
- This comforting dessert is easy to make with minimal ingredients and simple to decorate.
- The Black Treacle Buttercream pairs beautifully with the dark caramel notes of the cake.
- If you like the classic British dessert Sticky Toffee Pudding then you'll love this delicious cake.
Ingredients needed
Teff flour. This is a wholegrain flour which is naturally gluten-free. It works well in this Date Cake because of its wonderfully malty molasses taste pairs beautifully with the deep rich flavours of the dates, tea and brown sugar.
Almond flour. You are looking for blanched ground almonds. There is a bit of labelling confusion over almond flour which is sold as ‘ground almonds’ in most major UK supermarkets and found in the baking aisle. If you want to know what exactly you are looking for then check out this post >>>Is Almond Flour The Same As Ground Almonds.
Black tea. You can happily use a tea bag if that is easier and any kind of black tea works. This recipe was tested with an English Breakfast Blend.
Medjool dates. Used for their rich flavour and thick sticky texture which gives a lovely toffee quality to the bake.
Bicarbonate of soda. Also known as baking soda, this is a white crystalline powder that is commonly used as a leavening agent in baking.
Baking powder. A leaving agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.
Dark soft brown sugar. Gives a wonderful rich molasses flavour to the cake.
Butter. Unsalted butter is the best choice here. Make sure it is at room temperature.
Egg. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g with shell (50g each without shell).
Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.
For the Buttercream
Butter. Unsalted butter is the best choice here. Make sure it is at room temperature.
Icing sugar. (powdered sugar). Icing sugar is preferred over white sugar in buttercream because it dissolves more easily, resulting in a smoother and less grainy texture, while also contributing to the desired consistency and sweetness of the buttercream.
Black treacle is a dark, bitter syrup derived from sugar refining, it’s used often in traditional British baking thanks to its rich and unique flavour.
Salt. Essential for the buttercream to lift the flavours and mellow the sweetness.
Substitutions and Variations
- Flours. You can swap both the teff flour for the same amount of all-purpose flour if gluten-free is not an issue for you.
- Medjool dates. Medjool dates are incredibly sticky and give this cake so much moisture. These are really the only dates I would use for this particular cake.
- Black treacle. You can substitute for dark corn syrup of molasses if you can't get hold of black treacle but the flavour will be a little different.
- Add chopped walnuts for a bit of nutty texture.
- Include a little orange zest into the batter for a little citrus kick.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon or ginger to the cake batter for a touch of spice.
- Bake in some dark chocolate chips which will give even more ooey gooeyness and a great chocolate kick.
How to make Sticky Date Cake
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Soak chopped dates in freshly brewed tea with some bicarbonate of soda for 10 minutes.
- Beat dark soft brown sugar with unsalted butter.
- Add an egg and the soaked dates with all their liquid.
- Sift together teff flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt and then mix teh dry ingredients into the rest of the batter.
- Pour into a square cake tin and bake for 50 minutes. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before covering with buttercream.
How to make Black Treacle Buttercream
This Black Treacle Buttercream is incredible and very easy.
- Cream unsalted butter and icing sugar for 6-8 minutes until very light and creamy.
- Add 1 tablespoon black treacle and a pinch of salt and beat in until fully incorporated.
Expert tips
- When you are measuring out your black treacle, dip your tablespoon into flavourless oil before scooping out the treacle. The treacle will slip out of the tablespoon and becomes a much less messy affair.
- Don’t brew the tea for longer than 3-5 minutes or the tea will taste ‘stewed’
- Dice the medjool dates up into small pieces for even distribution throughout the cake.
- The butter should be room temperature before creaming with the sugar to achieve a light and fluffy sponge.
- Sift the flours well with the baking powder and salt so they are mixed evenly throughout the cake.
- Check the cake is baked by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer into the middle of the cake. It should come out dry with no sticky crumbs (unless you’ve caught a date).
FAQs
Cut the cake as and when you require slices which will prevent the cake from drying out. It will keep well in an airtight tin for up to 3 days.
Yes, this cake freezes very well. It’s always my preference to freeze cake un-iced and wrapped up well. However, if you have already iced the cake and have some spare slices you don’t want to eat right away then it’s possible to freeze completed.
To defrost a frozen cake, remove from the freezer the night before you wish to eat it, still wrapped up. The next day unwrap the cake and leave out for 30 minutes before serving.
✨Have you tried this Sticky Date Cake? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨
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Sticky Date Cake with Black Treacle Buttercream
Ingredients
- 275 ml just boiled water
- 1 black teabag
- 200 g medjool dates - stoned and diced
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 180 g dark soft brown sugar
- 75 g unsalted butter - room temperature
- 1 egg - medium
- 140 g teff flour
- 140 g almond flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Black Treacle Buttercream
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 180 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon black treacle
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan assisted/ gas mark 4 and line and grease an 8 inch square baking tin.
- Place the teabag into a large bowl and pour in the just boiled water. Brew for 3 minutes.
- Remove the teabag and pour in the diced dates. Set aside for 10 minutes while you can prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Beat the sugar and butter together until the sugar has turned creamy.
- Pour in the egg and dates and mix until completely combined.
- Whisk the flours together with the baking powder and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the rest of the ingredients and mix together well.
- Pour the batter into the baking tin and bake for 50 minutes.
- Remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack before icing.
Black Treacle Buttercream
- Beat the butter and icing sugar together for 6-8 minutes until incredibly light and creamy.
- Add in the black treacle and mix in until completely incorporated.
- Spread the buttercream over the top of the cooled cake and cut into 9 squares.
Notes
- Medjool Dates are a must for this cake and can’t really be substituted for regular dates. Dice the dates up small for even distribution throughout the cake.
- Almond Flour. This recipe calls for almond flour which is blanched and ground whole almonds (without their skin). In the UK this kind of flour is sold in most major UK supermarkets labelled 'ground almonds' in the baking aisle. To make sure you know which almond flour you are choosing then check against this article The Difference Between The Almond Flours.
- Eggs. The eggs used in this recipe are medium size, 60g each with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount.
- Tea – use a good quality black teabag. Don’t brew for longer than 3-5 minutes or the tea will taste ‘stewed.’
- Butter – use unsalted and make sure it’s room temperature before creaming with the sugar.
- Teff Flour and Almond Flour – sift well with the salt and baking powder so they mix evenly throughout the cake. You can swap the teff flour for the same amount of all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Check the cake is baked by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer into the middle of the cake. It should come out dry with no sticky crumbs.
- Store – keep the cake in a cool airtight tin for up to 3 days.
- Freezing – this cake freezes well, iced or un-iced.
Love these flavour combinations.
Had one attempt so far that didn't go too well, but I think I know where I went wrong (I added that tea the dates had stewed in into the mix and it was just mich too wet) . I will definitely try again as these are great flavours and I would love to nail this recipe.
Thank you for sharing your feedback, let me know if you do try the recipe again and how it turns out!
Hii, I made this and it came out crunchy and bitty, what did I do wrong
It's the teff flour you are using. Some brands have a courser grind than others. You can try using another teff flour or substitute for a different flour like sorghum flour or oat flour.
I am extremely allergic to almonds/ almond flour and therefore must substitute it. What is the best substitute?
Hi Debi, you have two choices. You can either substitute the almond flour for chickpea flour (gram flour) as it has the same amount of protein but it will have a more pronounced flavour (more bitter than almonds), but this is quite a rich flavoured cake that it should mask most of it. The other option is to swap both the teff flour and the almonds for my homemade gluten-free flour blend as it is a balanced blend that works well for cakes (if you just substitute the almonds for this it will be too heavy on wholegrain flours). You can use the blend as per the recipe or you could substitute either the oat flour or the sorghum flour for the teff flour in the original date cake recipe. I hope this helps.
Hi Georgina,
I came back here, to look up this recipe again, as it was SO delicious last time I made it, I know I did tag you in on Instagram, when I posted a photo of the result and mentioned you too. It was a while back, so not sure if you saw it, so thought I’d say here,too, just how great the cake turned out, in case others are considering trying this recipe.
I love your recipes but I think this one is my favourite. Totally yum!
Hi Gill, thank you so much for leaving feedback - I really appreciate it. And it's lovely to hear how much you love this cake - it's a favourite of mine too!!
Hello, I'd like to make this cake. Can I use normal self-raising or 'cake' flour instead? Would it be the same quantity? I'm OK with gluten
Yes the same quantity. But use regular plain all purpose flour rather than self raising as the recipe already has baking agents included.
Hi Georgina,
I've started making this today and 'thought' I had Teff flour in stock but I only have Teff grain, instead. I've tried blitzing it in my food processor, to make it more flour-like but it still seems too granular. Any suggestions for a close substitute please? I have a good range of other flours I could use.
Hi Gill, you could use oat flour or buckwheat flour. Either of those would be lovely substitutes!
Brilliant. I was just pondering using buckwheat flour, so that's great to know it's your recommendation. Thank you. I've been wanting to try this cake for a while, as I love dates and treacle too.
Hello Georgina!!
I want to create this one but I want to know first if I can use black Molasses instead?
Thanks a lot
🙂
Yes you can!
What a lovely cake. Moist, not overly sweet. Being an American I had to order black treacle, but what an interesting flavor.
Happy you enjoyed the cake! It's a really lovely flavour for this time of year!!