Date and Apple Cakes

I am a huge fan of dates, and I eat them like lollies.  Accordingly, when I saw a recipe for date and apple cakes on p69 of the July 2014 edition of Taste magazine, I had to make them.

These date and apple cakes tend towards the healthier side of things, as they contain spelt flour instead of plain flour, and coconut oil.  They contain comparatively little sugar, with the sweetness coming primarily from the dates.  Best of all, they are moist and delicious. The magazine served them with a caramel sauce, so that they resembled little sticky date puddings, but I didn't bother with the sauce.

To make these little cakes, you will need:

135g pitted dried dates
250ml water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
60ml (1/4 cup) solid coconut oil
1/3 cup sugar (they used coconut sugar, I used white sugar)
240g white spelt flour
2 eggs
1 peeled and grated Granny Smith apple
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and spray a 12 hole muffin tin with cooking oil.

Put the dates and water into a small saucepan, bring to the boil, then simmer for 2 minutes.  Take the saucepan off the stove then stir in the bicarbonate of soda.  Allow the mixture to cool.

Beat the coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of sugar together  until light and creamy, then add 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 egg.  Beat to combine, then repeat with another tablespoon of flour and the remaining egg.  Fold through the grated apple and half of the remaining flour, then fold in the baking powder, cinnamon, date mixture and the last of the flour.

Using an icecream scoop, divide the mixture evenly between the 12 holes of the greased muffin tin, then bake for ~25 minutes.  Cool the cakes in the tin for 5 minutes before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.