Chocolate Date Cake

I am not one of those girls obsessed with chocolate for me it is a bit of a take it or leave it ingredient. The exception was while I was pregnant I craved both cake and chocolate. I partly put it down to giving up alcohol my body was craving something a bit naughty.

The perfect combination of chocolate and cake is a chocolate brownie. I have always used,   Nigel Slaters recipe for Very Good Chocolate Brownies , sometimes adding beetroot & ginger , or raspberries. They are always excellent  – dense and fudgey but they require a lot of sugar , butter and chocolate . This not only works out quick expensive it  gives a hit so intense I am often left reeling.

I decided to experiment with my Sticky Toffee Date Cake  to try combining the recipes , to make a rich tasting chocolate cake  without all the butter and chocolate.

The cake uses dates and cocoa and works really well and proper crackly brownie top with a  sticky centre, one for the regular cake rotation

Chocolate Date Cake

175g of self raising flour
175ml of sunflower oil
175g of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g of cocoa
100g of dates finely chopped

Makes 16 pieces

1. Cover the dates in boiling water , leave to cool, then drain off half the water
2. Preheat the oven to 175degC
3. Line a 25cm square tin with greaseproof paper
4. Cream  together the oil , sugar dates ( + soaking water)  eggs
5. Stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa
6. Fill the the cake tin and bake at 175degC for 35 minutes
7. Allow to cook and cut into pieces.