Sticky Date Cake – Keke Teiti
E hoa mā (friends), I have had this keke (cake) in my mind for such a long time and I finally made it! The challenge for me was to make a cake that mimics our favourite dessert – sticky date pudding! I wanted a heavily spiced cake with loads of mushy dates inside. Then came the caramel part! I trialled a few different ways with the karamea (caramel). However, the final triumph was when I realised I could bake some of the caramel in to the cake and use the rest to decorate it.
The caramel I make is so easy to whip up and can be used as a pouring karamea (caramel) or a thick, pipe-able one. Here is the recipe to check out: easy caramel. We pair this delicious keke with another favourite, simple cream cheese frosting or you could do a double batch of my cream cheese and white chocolate frosting if you wanted to. Everything about this keke (cake) just makes me happy, so follow me on this delicious adventure!
Sticky Date Cake – Keke Teiti Mōhinuhinu
Ingredients
The Caramel – Te Karamea
- 1 quantity Easy Caramel
The Date Cake – Te Keke Teiti
- 2 C (280 g) teiti (dates, tightly packed)
- 1 C (250 ml) wai wera (hot water, from the tap)
- ½ tsp tote (salt, fine)
- 170 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- 1 C huka hāura (brown sugar)
- 1 tbsp iho hūperei (vanilla essence)
- 3 hēki (eggs, size 6)
- 2 ½ tbsp kōkō (cocoa, dutch is best)
- 1 tbsp raukikini whakauruuru (mixed spice)
- 2 tsp hinamona kuoro (ground cinnamon)
- 1 ½ C puehu parāoa whakatipu (self-raising flour)
- ½ C (125 ml) miraka (milk)
Pani reka Kirīmi Tīhi
- 1 quantity simple cream cheese frosting
- 10 titipi āporo (apple chips, I used the Fruit Hitz ones)
Instructions
The Caramel – Te Karamea
- Make the easy caramel recipe according to instructions. The reason we make this first is so that we can bake some of it in to the keke (cake) and the rest is used for decorating. Once you have made the caramel, leave it to cool.
The Date Cake – Te Keke Teiti
- Pre-heat the oven to 160 °C.
- Grease two 19 cm or 20 cm spring form cake tins with butter. Add baking paper to the base with a large over hang on the outside of the tin.
- Add teiti (dates), wai wera (hot water) and tote (salt) in to a pot or a medium sized microwave proof bowl. If you are using the stove, bring the mixture to a boil and boil on high for 6 minutes. If you are using the microwave, heat on high for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and mash the dates until a smooth paste forms. Leave it to cool slightly.
- Add the pata kūteretere (softened butter), huka hāura (brown sugar) and iho hūperei (vanilla essence) to a large bowl. Whip on high for five minutes until the butter has changed to a light pale colour.
- Add an egg at a time and beat for 15 seconds after each addition. Don't worry if it looks a bit split after the third hēki (egg), it will all come back together.
- Add the kōkō (cocoa), raukikini whakauruuru (mixed spice) and hinamona (cinnamon) in to the butter mixture. Mix well.
- Stir the miraka (milk) in to the slightly cooled date mixture. Add it to the butter mixture. Fold it through.
- Add the puehu parāoa whakatipu (self-raising flour). Fold it all together. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins.
- Spread ⅓ C of the caramel sauce on top the top of each of the cakes. The remaining caramel sauce will be used for decorating.
- Bake for 40 minutes until they spring back in the middle when pressed.
- Once the cakes have finished baking, remove from the oven and allow them cool in the tins for 5 minutes before flipping them out. Cool completely before decorating.
Cream Cheese Frosting – Pani Reka Kirīmi Tīhi
- Make the simple cream cheese frosting according to the recipe.
- Once the cake is cool, add one of the keke (cakes) to a plate or cake stand. Add around half a cup of the frosting on to the cake and spread out.
- Pipe a border around the edge of the keke (cake) or make a border with a spoon (like I did in the video). Add around half a cup or so of the karamea (caramel) and smooth it out.
- Add the second cake and cover with more frosting. You can use it all to cover the cake or reserve half a cup for some decorating on top.
- Pipe the remaining karamea (caramel) on to the top of the cake and then add som titipi āporo (apple chips) for some rustic drama.
- You can also leave the caramel off the top of the cake. When you are ready to serve it, melt the karamea (caramel) back down over a gentle heat and drizzle it over the keke (cake) as you serve each piece.
Hi there Naomi. I am excited to make this delicious sounding cake. I love your recipes.
I am confused my the cup vs ml measurements. The water quantity with the dates says 1 cup but 225 ml. A NZ standard cup measure is 250 ml. Milk measure is 1/2 c but 120 ml. Please can you confirm the actual measurements.
Kia Adrienne, so sorry for the confusion. You are so right, when I wrote this recipe out I had just started using the measurements in ml’s etc and wasn’t getting the quantities right, so sorry. I have amended the recipe now, thanks so much for letting me know. That is such a help. I hope you like the recipe. I love this one!