Orange and Date Kiss-Me Cake

This recipe has become an instant family fav. It produces such a moist, tender and oh so flavourful cake!

It's based on a Pillsbury Bake-Off winning recipe from the 1950s that won $25,ooo, a lot of dough for back then. That recipe uses raisins instead of dates.

For me, the orange, date, walnut combo inspires thoughts of north african / mediterranean fare. Nicole from baking bites says California. Similar climates, I guess.

Recipe
1 medium orange
1 cup dates
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Topping
1/3 cup orange juice (fresh-squeezed is best)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 9×13-inch baking pan. Cut orange in half and remove all seeds. In a food processor, puree the entire orange (including peel) until the peel 0 pith has broken down completely and is a smooth pulp.. Add the walnuts and dates and pure into a paste. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk and the rest of the flour. Stir in the orange, date, walnut mixture just until combined and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the top springs back.

While the cake bakes, whisk together topping ingredients in a small bowl. Pour topping over hot cake and let it sit while the cake cools. Cool completely before serving.