I often think that I was born with a date in my mouth, because soft, plump and dark Medjool dates are so abundant in Morocco! Prized for their rich caramelized flavor, dates are served at weddings and to welcome royalty. 

For family celebrations, like weddings, hennas, bar mitzvahs and the Jewish holidays, my mother would always make her exquisite marzipan-stuffed dates. But dates were part of everyday life too. There were always bowls filled with nuts and dried fruit on the coffee table. As a quick snack, we would often grab a date and stuff it with a few almonds or walnuts and munch contentedly. We called it dafina, perhaps because it was stuffed, just like the Shabbat dafina pot always had a stuffing of wheat or meat roll wrapped in cheesecloth. Of course, there were always a few dates in the Shabbat dafina pot to lend natural sweetness to the meat, chickpea and potato stew. 

My mother loved to chop up dates and pop them into her cake batters. And she made the most amazing sweet cigars — brik dough stuffed with date paste, fried and then dipped in a hot honey syrup.  

When my son Sam was engaged to Estrella, the first thing I did was make marzipan-stuffed dates for him to bring to his future in-laws in Miami.

Dates are having a moment. It feels like popular culture has discovered the Sephardic love affair with dates. Dates are all over social media, featured in tons of interesting and tasty new recipes. My daughter Rebekah (on Instagram @sweetsheff) is a master cookie baker, but for a quick, healthy dessert fix, she will stuff dates with almond butter or peanut butter, drizzle them with melted chocolate, then freeze them. A healthy, delicious truffle.

Dates are having a moment. It feels like popular culture has discovered the Sephardic love affair with dates. Dates are all over social media, featured in tons of interesting and tasty new recipes.

Many, many years ago, our friend Miriam Benzaquen posted a sticky date pudding recipe on Facebook. I decided it was the perfect dessert and made it for my family. It was a hit, so I added it to my baking favorites. Then I forgot about it. But when I kept seeing all the date recipes on Instagram, it popped back into my mind. I decided it would be the perfect addition to the Thanksgiving dessert table. While I am a big fan of pumpkin pie and pecan pie, not everyone enjoys pie. So for them, this Sticky Date Pudding Cake is the perfect confection. The cake is lightly sweet, with the citrusy orange rind pairing perfectly with the dates. The sticky part is the caramel that gets poured onto the hot cake when it comes out of the oven. English sticky toffee pudding normally calls for lots of butter and the caramel is made with dairy cream. But to keep it pareve, the perfect substitute is vegan butter and coconut cream. Serve it with some non-dairy ice cream or whipped cream or sprinkle it with chopped nuts or some more orange rind. 

Your family and friends will be pleasantly surprised by the sticky, sweet perfection. 

—Rachel 

Sticky Date Pudding Cake

Caramel Sauce

1 ½ cups dark brown sugar

½ cup coconut cream (only the cream, no liquid)

1/4 cup vegan butter, at room temperature

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Pinch salt

In a small saucepan, warm the sugar, cream, butter, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Bring to a low boil and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the sugar has melted and the sauce has thickened.

Remove from heat and set aside.

12 pitted Medjool dates, chopped

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup unsalted vegan butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Grease a square  cake pan or an 11x 7 ceramic baking dish and set aside.

Place dates and water in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until the dates are soft, about 15 minutes.

Use a food processor or blender to blend the date and water mixture to a smooth consistency. Set aside.

Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar to a light and fluffy texture. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, orange zest and the date paste and mix until well combined.

Gently fold in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pour the batter into the cake pan or ceramic dish and bake for 25 minutes. When center is slightly firm remove cake.

Allow cake to cool for 20 minutes.

Pour half of the sauce over the top of the cake. Leave to soak in for 20 minutes.

Slice the cake and serve with a bit more caramel sauce. 

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, nuts or more orange rind and enjoy the sticky toffee goodness!

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food. Website sephardicspicegirls.com/full-recipes.