by A Beh
175g margarine
125g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp emulsifier
1 tsp vanilla essence
100ml milk
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
100g self-raising flour
Sifted twice
80g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tbsp cocoa powder
75g dates, remove stones and coarsely chopped
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped
1½ tbsp self-raising flour
Grease sides and line the base of 19cm round cake pan with non-stick parchment paper. Preheat oven at 170°C.
Combine dates, walnuts and self-raising flour in a plastic bag and shake well until fruits and nuts are well-coated with flour.
Cream margarine, sugar, honey and emulsifier until light and creamy. Gradually drizzle in milk and beat until well-combined. Should the mixture curdle, add 1–2 tbsp sifted dry ingredients and continue to beat. Add yoghurt and essence to mix.
Fold in sifted dry ingredients in batches and mix in date and walnut mixture.
Turn mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 40–45 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Cool cake in the pan for 10–15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. (This makes a moist vegetarian cake and as it’s eggless, it crumbles slightly when cut into slices).
