Dates and Almond cake

This is my first attempt at baking a cake from scratch. It is a very simple recipe, and quite tasty. One does not miss the eggs or the butter in this cake. I made this cake twice in a week, and it was a winner. My mom got me Lion dates syrup from India, and I used this in place of sugar in this recipe. This cake does not require any icing on it, however I glazed the cake with some orange flavored glaze. I adapted this cake from several dates cake recipes I found on other blogs.

Dates - 15
Milk - 3/4 cup
Date syrup - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Flour - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/2 cup
Almonds - 1/4 cup

For Glaze: (Optional)
Powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
Orange juice - 2 tbsp

Heat the milk and dates in the microwave for 3 minutes. This will make the dates soft and help with grinding them. I used Lion dates that were pitted and soft. If using dried dates, soak them in milk over night.

Grind the dates with the milk. Add the date syrup and sugar and grind. If you do not find date syrup, substitute it with sugar. Just use 3/4 cup sugar instead of the date syrup + sugar combination. 

Add the oil to this mixture and whisk well. Mix the flour and baking soda and add to the liquid one spoonful at a time. Mix well. When the mixture is well incorporated, grease a cake pan, and pour the batter into the pan.

Chop the almonds, and top the cake with the chopped nuts.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean. If the cake is not cooked through, the knife will have some batter on it.

Cool and remove.

Powder some sugar, else use a 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Mix the orange juice into the powdered sugar. The glaze should be runny, and you should be able to pour in onto the cake with a spoon. Use more juice if required.

Drizzle the glaze onto the cake with a spoon. Cool and serve.