Butterscotch Cake with Dates

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

One of my best friends gave me a box of dates dusted with sesame seeds given to her by one of her patients. She told me to try and make something with it. She was really hinting at my Foods for the Gods but I was skeptical since I'm not sure how sesame seeds will play into the final flavor of the bar. It was then maybe planned in this lifetime that my nephew came up to me this morning asking for a chocolate treat. Yep, I'm a grocery store of sorts to him.  It was then that I decided to make my butterscotch bar which he loves and convert it into cake form although it is relatively different from the chocolate biscuit my nephew wanted. As I was about to add the final ingredient which was the vanilla, I had this epiphany of sorts and decided to add the dates that my friend gave me. So in went a cup of pitted dates and a prayer came along with it hoping the sesame seeds will not taste too weird after the baking period. As a side note, what makes a cake a cake and a bar a bar? Is it just the shape? Anyway, I'm classifying this dessert as a coffee cake of sorts. Very yummy by the way and the sesame seeds added a nutty flavor to the cake. You can serve it warm which means it is still a bit gooey or cooled to room temperature in which case, the cake has firmed up just like your regular favorite baked bar but in wedge form.  

Butterscotch Cake with Dates

1 cup margarine, melted
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 extra large eggs
2 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pitted dates, diced

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
    Grease and line a 9-inch
    round baking pan with 
    aluminum foil and set 
    aside.

2. In a small saucepan over
    medium low heat, melt 
    the margarine. Add the 
    brown sugar and 
    continue to cook until 
    the sugar has melted. 
    Remove from the heat 
    and allow to cool. 

3. Transfer the margarine and sugar mixture into a large metal bowl. Add the
    eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. 

4. Sift the flour and the baking powder into the egg mixture and combine 
    with a wooden spatula until the flour is incorporated.

5. Stir in the vanilla and the pitted dates and pour the batter into the 
    prepared pan. 

6. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle
    of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into 
    wedges.