Hey all,
As I told you, I’ve been busy, and my cooking/baking time has dwindled. However, I finally had some free time this past weekend, AND it was the first weekend below the mid 80s. (Yay for cooling off periods!) I’ve told you I hate hot weather, right? I grew up going to school on the coast of California (from San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz to my parent’s house by San Francisco!), and I grew to love cool, coastal weather. Bring on the sweater weather! I want to see overcast skies and fog! Anyway, because of it being a weekend with cool weather, I went kinda crazy on the baking and cooking. I’m pretty sure I made 5 different dishes, and one of which was for Ron.
Ron has made great strides with his health since we started dating. He went from being a smoker with high blood pressure to a healthy and fit person. He has come so far! I made Ron this healthy rustic cake to say “I love you!” and to give him something enticing to eat for after dinner.
Guess what is the base of this cake? Wait for it…….Dates and whole wheat flour! I am really trying to learn how to change my baking AND eating patterns; why not make a recipe that is heart-healthy and delicious? Ron couldn’t tell that this delicious dessert was full of fiber and whole wheat flour! Considering half of this cake is gone, I’d say it was a success!
Rustic Chocolate Cake (dates and whole wheat flour)
Ingredients:
10 dates
3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp instant coffee mixed with two tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
optional: 1/8 cup walnuts or pecans
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9 inch pie pan. Combine all wet ingredients (dates, coffee, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla) and process with an immersion blender (or in a food processor) until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (sugar, cocoa, flour, and salt), and mix well.
Stir date mixture into dry ingredients until mixed, and add the chocolate chips.
Spread the mixture evenly into your pie pan and bake for 17-19 minutes. Let cool, and then serve!
Yum! Have a funny story about using dates in cooking. Will be on my next blog.
And congrats to Ron on quitting smoking–I did 6 years ago. Not easy, but such a good decision!
Ooooh, I can’t wait to read the date post!
And yes, I know how hard it is to quick smoking—-so great that you did! I remember a psychologist in college telling my class that smoking is one of the most difficult addictions to break.
Ron started lowering his half-a-pack a day intake slowly, and it became easier and easier for him! (He also had/has gout, which is a crazy archaic disease and he realized he needed to clean up his act!) Now him and I are slowly changing our diet and trying to eliminate the amount of meat in our diet. Baby steps!
Best of luck!
Good on Ron my friend
You are so sweet making this cake for him! It looks so tasty!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yes, too bad I ate a quarter of it (it was too good!).
I have come across quite a few chocolate cake recipes that call for dates, but I am yet to try one. This looks wholesome, chocolatey and oh-so-good!!!!! By the way- today was day one of my ‘get fit and lose weight’ journey.
Yes, I really love using dates in baking! They are naturally sweet with caramel undertones, which makes them a perfect ingredient in chocolate recipes! And how exciting about your journey! Yes, I’ve been not caring about what I ate for awhile, and I just decided one day that the fatigue and sluggishness needed to stop! Honestly, I love to eat and love food, but I also love feeling energized and healthy. I had to make some changes! I’d recommend making slow changes and just trying to eat more wholesome, unprocessed food. I find that I’m having to eat MORE because of my choices being healthful and low cal.
I love this recipe. LOVE. IT. Forreal.
The dates I have right now are dried, though (soooo good in granola bars). I may try to rehydrate them with a little apple juice and get my bake on. Gold star for healthy habits! It can be difficult, but is also sorta fun and soooo rewarding.