How the date cake found its way into our hearts
It all began when dear Reet Kivi—who has lived and worked in Dubai for many years—brought us wonderfully flavourful dates from there. They were so incredibly delicious that we decided to share a small taste of Dubai’s sweet world with our guests as well. This is how the tradition began—welcoming guests with small date cakes placed on their pillows, offering a warm, Dubai-inspired greeting.
At one point, the idea emerged to incorporate dates into a dessert as well. A good friend, Siki, shared a recipe she had received from her Finnish friend—Taatelikakku, a much-loved family cake—which quickly became a true favourite among our guests. The cake became so popular that the renowned food photographer and cookbook author Ragne Värk included it in her cookbook.
And so good recipes tend to travel—from hand to hand, heart to heart, kitchen to kitchen. We hope this recipe continues its journey and finds its way into your home—and to the homes of the people you`ll share it with.
Date cake
Equipment: loaf tin, oven
Yield: 12 servings
200 g dried dates
2 dl water
200 g butter
2 eggs (room temperature)
1.5 dl sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (level)
1.5 dl kefir
3.5 dl all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C.
- Place the dates and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat—stirring occasionally—until the dates are soft. Add the butter and let it melt. Blend the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth, then set aside to cool.
- Grease the loaf tin with butter and dust lightly with flour. Whisk the room-temperature eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. Add the kefir to the egg mixture and mix well. Combine the baking soda with the flour, then sift it into the whipped egg and kefir mixture.
- Add the date mixture and mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour on the lower rack of the oven.
- Allow to cool before serving and dust with icing sugar.