Foods for the God

This is my Christmas Special cake, rich in nuts & fruit; very festive in deed ~ I always bake this during the year end holiday season for friends and colleagues and is a favorite of everybody's. This again, is a mom's creation and I owe it completely to her. Compliment it with a cup of hot coffee or cocoa to further savor the flavor.

Preparation time: 40 min
Baking time: 40 min
Difficulty level: moderate
Source: Mom
Pan size: 13" x 9" pan or 24 regular muffins or 9" round pan

Serves: up to 24 people

Ingredients:

Coarsely ground dates, melted butter and eggs

For cake batter -

Eggs: 4

Sugar: 1 3/4 cup

Cake flour: 2 cups

Baking powder: 2 tsp

Butter: 1 cup

Dates: about 35 soaked in 1/2 cup milk and coarsely ground (not to paste)

Almonds: 1/2 cup (chopped & roasted)

Cashews: 1/2 cup (chopped & roasted)

Cardamom powder: a pinch

Raisins (optional): 1/4 cup

For caramel -

Sugar: 2 tblsp

Water: 1/4 cup

Procedure for caramel:

Heat sugar in a pot until the sugar burns. Turn off heat and pour water into the pot. Keep aside for it to cool.

Procedure for cake batter:

Before you start with the batter -

Soak dates in milk for about 20 minutes. Sieve cake flour and baking powder. Grease baking pan(s) with oil (or butter) & flour. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. 

For cake batter - 

Beat the eggs using a wire whip to a frothy consistency. Then add sugar and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes.  Add the sieved flour, little by little to the egg-sugar mixture, waiting in between for it to blend into a uniform batter with no lumps. Add butter to this and mix well for 2 minutes. Then, use a spatula to mix in the dates, nuts, and raisins. Finally, pour in the cooled caramel and add a pinch of cardamom powder to the batter. Mix well using the spatula. 

Pour the batter into the greased pan(s) and bake for about 40 minutes. At the end of 40 minutes, check if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick; the toothpick must come out clean or with a few cake crumbs. Take the pan out from the oven and let it cool completely (for about 40 - 60 minutes) before flipping the pan over on a wire rack. If you're baking muffins, indulge straight outta the oven!!!