Date and Tamarind Loaf Cake
from https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/

When uncommon flavor and cultural combinations present themselves, I can't resist. That's why I've made this intriguing date tamarind loaf cake recipe from Nik Sharma's debut cookbook, Season, twice in the past couple of weeks. A Bombay native, Sharma came to America in in his early twenties about fifteen years ago and discovered a penchant for food, photography, and writing.

Tamarind date chutney is one of my all-time favorite Indian condiments. When made from scratch, tamarind date chutney is tangy, hot, and pungent. Because the chutney appeals to me so much, Sharma's concept of putting its flavors in an olive oil-based cake captured my attention. I weighed, counted and measured ingredients to match the recipe, but the resulting date tamarind loaf cake didn't allow the date tamarind flavors to shine. I was expecting my favorite chutney in a solid cake form. Perhaps the extra virgin olive oil muted the tangy dance between the tamarind, date, and jaggery too much? The oil's big flavor seemed to dominate.

Sharma had ground ginger and black pepper in the batter, another point of appeal to me, and I wanted more of their spicy heat, too. After I tried a slice of the cake, I drizzled the icing on top, as instructed. It was a nice touch, but as Sharma indicates in the recipe introduction, you can opt to eat it without icing, maybe with powdered sugar or his kefir creme fraiche. Plus, the walnut crown on top is too handsome to cover up.

So I tried the recipe again, but changed things a bit to amp up the flavors I liked. On the second try, I swapped neutral tasting canola for the extra-virgin olive oil. I didn't have enough jaggery left so I used organic brown sugar, which has a lovely round sweetness. Sharma's jaggery substitute is muscovado sugar but it's pretty pricey stuff and not easy to find.

I increased the amount of tamarind and lowered the quantity of dates; the Medjools I got for the first round were ginormous and I think they may have been why the cake was denser than I liked. With this second trial, I noted the weight amount of pitted dates so I'd have a reliable measure going forward. The black pepper and ground ginger were both boosted by 50 percent, then I chopped a knob of fresh ginger and added it to the blender with the sugar and liquid ingredients for spicy smoothie of sorts.

Tasting the batter before baking, I took a bold move and added cumin, which is in my tamarind date chutney recipe. Why not? Omit the cumin if it sounds too strange for you. Walnuts are good brain food and given that I'd decreased the volume of dates, I made up the difference with extra walnuts (bonus: crunchy texture!).

3 1/4 to 4 ounces sour tamarind pulp (use the maximum for a bright tang)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons just-boiled water
2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
2 to 3 teaspoons ground ginger (use maximum for zing)
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon recently ground black pepper (use maximum for oomph)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 to 8 ounces chopped, pitted Medjool dates (12 to 16 dates)
1/2 to 2/3 cup chopped walnuts, plus 5 or 6 walnut halves
1 ounce coarsely chopped peeled ginger (about 3 tablespoons; optional)
3/4 cup (5.25 oz) packed jaggery, muscovado sugar, or organic brown sugar
3/4 cup neutral oil (such as canola) or extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (4.25 oz) confectioner's sugar (for icing; optional)

Break the tamarind into 3 or 4 chunks and add the hot water. Cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and let soften and cool for 1 hour. Uncover, then massage and squeeze out the pulp to release from any solids, then press and rub the mixture through a mesh strainer set over a measuring cup or bowl. Scrape the bottom to get all the thick liquid. You should net a good 1 cup (see the fix in the main post if you're shy). Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8 ½ by 4 ½-inch loaf pan with oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, pepper, cumin, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Measure out 2 tablespoons into a bowl and add the dates and walnuts. Toss with your hand to separate sticky date pieces and coat things well. Set aside.

In a blender, combine the chopped ginger and sugar. Blend to chop up the ginger finely. Add 1 cup of the tamarind liquid; reserve the remaining 2 tablespoons for the icing or another use, such as making a quick tamarindo soda with simple syrup and bubbly water. Blend the mixture on high to combine well. Add the oil and pulse on high speed to blend well and emulsify. Add the eggs, one at a time, and pulse for 3 or 4 seconds to incorporate well.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then pour in the tamarind and oil mixture. Whisk or stir with a spatula until flour is no longer visible. If you like, let the batter sit for a few minutes to develop flavor, then taste it and tweak if necessary with extra ground spices. When satisfied, stir in the dates and walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Shimmy the pan to level out the top, then arrange the walnuts down the center. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, rotating midway, until firm to the touch at the center and a skewer comes out clean. Near the end, if is too brown and requiring a longer bake, cover the top loosely with foil, lower the heat to 325F and bake for about 15 minutes longer.

Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, run a knife around the edge and unmold. Let cool completely, handsome side up, on the rack.

For the icing (optional), whisk together 1 teaspoon oil with 2 tablespoons tamarind. Sift in the confectioner's sugar and whisk until completely smooth. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and let sit for 1 hour to set before serving. Store the cake in an airtight container at cool room temperature or refrigerate up to four days. Slice and eat at room temperature.

Yield 8 servings