This Sticky Date Cake with cognac toffee is absolutely out of this world. It tastes just as delicious as it looks. I am such a sucker for a dense, yet gooey dessert – and this is just that. After the toffee soaks into the cake you are left with such a great texture of cake and caramel flavors.

I originally tried this cake at a restaurant in Chicago called Armitage Alehouse. One thing about me is that if I love something at a restaurant, you best believe I’m asking the server or chef on how to make it. Restaurants is one of the main places where I get a lot of inspiration for my recipes. I’ll either make them my own, or try to create an exact dupe – like this one.

The components of this Sticky Date Cake

1. The Date Cake – the base is a cake made with a date paste. This is made by soaking dates in boiling milk to soften them, a little baking soda to neutralize the tannins found it dates, reducing the bitterness a bit. The cake is dense and moist – the way it should be.
2. The cognac toffee – the cognac (or brandy) is optional! It just gives the toffee a slight bite (it’s very subtle) but can be omitted entirely if you choose. This toffee is absolutely to die for. It is so savory and sweet and RICH. I could spoon it right out of the pan (I did).
3. The toppings – For this I used a toasted coconut ice cream. The original at Armitage Alehouse is a brown butter ice cream, which I highly recommend using if you can find it at a grocery store. I also bought some short bread cookies that I crushed up to add a bit of crunch to this all-around gooey dessert. Here’s the cookies I used.

How to nail this recipe

1. Use the right pan – I always recommend this one. A metal, square pan is the best route for baking cakes and brownies. It will give you an even bake throughout and bake a bit quicker than a glass or ceramic pan. If you’re using a glass or ceramic pan, please adjust your baking time to a bit longe than the recipe calls for.
2. Make your toffee with about 10 minutes left of your cake cooling. You do not want to allow too much time for your toffee to cool before pouring it on your cake. It essentially is a caramel, and it will thicken and solidify as it cools, so be sure that it’s hot and liquidy when you pour it onto your cake.
3. Cut a thin later off of your edges of your cake – this is definitely not necessary, but it allows that toffee to really soak into the edges of this cake with the gap that you created.

This is a fairly easy recipe that tastes like it took HOURS to make. It is rich, savory, and sweet and has the most decadent texture. Let me know if you make this cake! Hope you love it.

Sticky Date Cake

megan sheley

This classic sticky date cake with cognac toffee is bound to be a crowd pleaser. An absolute must make for a holiday dinner or gathering with friends. The perfect combination of savory, sweet, and perfectly rich – it is everything you want in a cake.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 9 pieces

Equipment

• 1 Blender optional

Ingredients

  

FOR THE CAKE

• 8 oz dates chopped
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 8 tbsp butter softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/3 cup flour 170g
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder

FOR THE TOFFEE

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter 5 1/3 tbsp
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cognac or brandy

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring 1 cup of milk to a boil in a small pan. Chop your dates up in the smaller chunks and place into a bowl and top with 1 tsp baking soda and stir. Pour the boiling milk over your dates and let sit submerged for 10 minutes to soften up. Mash or blend the dates to create a paste. If blending, let milk cool before blending (don’t put hot liquid into a blender). Set aside.
• In a large bowl add your date paste, eggs, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer to mix. Add in flour, salt, and baking powder and mix again.
• To an 8×8 square metal pan, add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan, grease the sides with a bit of butter. Pour your batter in and bake for 40(ish) minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center (depends on your oven and which pan you’re using).
• Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of cooling, make your toffee.
• In a large skillet, heat 1/3c of unsalted butter, 1 1/4c heavy cream, 3/4c brown sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp of vanilla on medium heat. Whisk together. Bring to a light boil for 3-4 minutes and keep stirring (it will burn if you leave it). Remove from heat and wait 5 minutes. Add in 2 tsp of brandy or cognac (optional). Stir in. Let rest.
• Scrape the sides of the cake with a knife and flip onto a cutting board. Remove parchment paper from the bottom. Using a serrated knife, carefully cute a THIN slice off each side of the cake (this is to make room in the pan to have the toffee get to all of the edges).
• To the bottom of your cake pan, add a thin layer of the toffee. Return your cake to the pan. Using a toothpick, poke holes all throughout your cake. Cut into 9 squares. Pour toffee over the cake.
• Let cake sit for at least 30 minutes. Serve with Brown butter ice cream and shortbread crumbles. Enjoy!

Notes

I recommend using an 8×8 metal cake pan with square edges (not rounded edges) for this recipe to turn out perfect. 

Keyword date cake, dessert, easy recipes