thanksgiving recipe #3

chocolate coffee sticky date cake with whipped cream

okay, so hear me out! maybe this is controversial—

look—much to people's surprise, i love thanksgiving food, actually! and indeed, that includes all the traditional pies and whatnot. but this year, i felt like making something a little different for thanksgiving dessert.

sometimes in life, it’s okay to change it up from time to time. because, actually—life is too short to eat pumpkin pie every single thanksgiving. in my humble opinion, anyway!

when my dear friends at spring & mulberry asked me if i wanted to collaborate on a holiday dessert, i was super excited. i have worked with them in the past, and i am such a big fan of not only the founders, but also the chocolate itself.

now, we all know i love a sticky toffee pud. i’m british—it’s the law. and, it is truly one of the best desserts out there. so, i got to thinking about how i could incorporate their gorgeous chocolate into a dessert, with perhaps some british origins, but also make it feel festive enough for the thanksgiving table.

cue a chocolate coffee sticky date cake

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spring & mulberry

i first tried this chocolate a year or so ago, when they kindly sent me some pr to taste. i remember not only being blown away by the incredible flavor of the chocolate itself, but then being absolutely floored that the only sweetener in this chocolate was dates! since then we have become fast friends and close work colleagues and i am also so honored whenever they ask to work with me.

the founders

— kathryn

‘a trip to dubai on the way to visit my husband’s family in india awakened me to the pleasure and beauty of dates, no longer relegated to the bulk bins of american grocery. fast-forward a few years later and a cancer diagnosis led me to quit refined sugar and explore the healing power of foods. with nothing to satisfy my sweet tooth, i started experimenting with dates, fruits, nuts, and cacao, discovering a depth of flavor and range of sweetness that are the foundation of our products today’

— sarah

‘growing up in alaska, nature was all around me, but produce came only from the lower 48. in fact, most fruit came in a can. It was a trip to georgia in my early teens where i first discovered the pleasure of a ripe peach, just picked from the orchard. that began my journey to eat as close to the earth as possible, nourishing my friends and family with whole, pristine ingredients. spring & mulberry is a continuation of my desire to add sweetness to life’

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chocolate coffee sticky date cake

so the challenge i had with developing this recipe was that i could only use date sugar to sweeten it. less so of a challenge, i should say, more of a fun journey!

my findings when recipe testing this cake were that, date sugar is far less sweet than usual cane sugar, and is also more dense and so therefore can lead to a slightly more dry cake overall. so i had keep all this in mind and adjust all of the ingredients based on those variables.

i have a sticky toffee pudding recipe that i developed last year, and so worked off of that. i honestly could not believe how incredibly moist this cake turned out, i really was so pleased. it kind of reminded me of nigella’s guinness cake—in texture, anyway.

and so here is the recipe to my chocolate coffee sticky date cake. i really hope you try to make this cake at some point, as i would love your feedback. if not for the thanksgiving table—perhaps then, just on a random tuesday afternoon because you felt like it.

with all that being said, i hope that you enjoy this as much as i did.

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1 cup of dates, chopped and soaked

1 cup boiling water

1 cup of ap flour 

1 tsp of smoked sea salt  

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda 

3 eggs 

1/2 cup date sugar 

1/2 cup olive oil 

2 bars of spring & mulberry coffee chocolate, melted 

whipped cream for serving  

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set the oven to bake at 350 degrees f 

begin by combining the dry ingredients together in a bowl—the flour, the salt, the baking powder and baking soda. set aside 

next, chop the dates into smaller pieces, the add to a bowl and cover with the boiling water, and let them steep for at least 15 minutes to soften. 

next add the date sugar and olive oil into another bowl and whisk vigorously. next add in the eggs and continue to whisk vigorously. the mixture should get fluffy. 

next, you will need a saucepan half filled with water and a metal bowl that fits atop. break the two bars of chocolate into smaller pieces and add to the bowl. begin heating the saucepan and water over high heat and set the bowl on top, so that the chocolate slowly melts. once fully melted, set aside to cool just a little. 

next, whisk the soaked date and water mixture into the egg and date sugar mixture and then add in the melted chocolate and continue to whisk. 

slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then with a silicone spatula, gently fold everything into one another until everything is mixed well. 

pour everything into a parchment lined 9” inch springform pan and place in the middle of the oven for 45mins or until a cake poker comes out clean. once cooked, set aside to fully cool. 

just before serving, adorn the cake with some freshly whipped, un-sweetened cream and then grate some of the coffee chocolate over the top. slice and serve! 

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i hope everyone has a wonderful day celebrating with loved ones on thursday!

talk soon

xo