Date Malva Pudding Cakes

 This recipe is from Martha Stewart, from Umber Ahmad. 

This version of the traditional South African malva-pudding cake comes from baker Umber Ahmad of Mah-Ze-Dahr. She makes mini puddings and uses dates pureed with cream in place of the usual apricot preserves.

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 3 large Medjool dates (2 1/2 ounces total), pitted and roughly chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Ingredient Checklist

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Cakes

  : Combine dates and cream; cover and refrigerate overnight.

• Step 2

  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda until thoroughly combined. Strain dates through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving cream (you should have about 1/2 cup). Puree dates in a mini food processor or blender, adding 1 to 2 teaspoons water if needed, until completely smooth.

• Step 3

  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together sugar, egg, and salt on medium-high speed until pale and thick, 2 minutes. Add date puree, then vinegar; beat well. Add half of milk, then flour mixture, then remaining milk, beating well after each addition.

• Step 4

  Place 6 five-ounce ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet; divide mixture evenly among them (a scant 1/3 cup each). Bake, rotating once, until very dark brown and set, 25 to 30 minutes.

• Step 5

  Filling

  : Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring sugar, butter, and 2 tablespoons water to a simmer. Whisk in reserved date cream and return to a simmer. Whisk until smooth; cover to keep warm.

• Step 6

  Remove cakes from oven; cut a small slit in center of each with a paring knife. Working with onecake at a time, pour filling into slit, waiting until it is absorbed, then pouring more until cakeis completely saturated. Repeat with remaining cakes. Serve immediately, topped with ice cream.

My notes:

1. I would not make this recipe again. While the end result was good, I felt like too many parts of it "messed up" in my kitchen making the whole thing rather stressful. 

2. I soaked the dates in cream overnight, but was unable to really strain it the next day, despite leaving the mixture out until it came to room temp. At most I was able to strain out 2 TBSP of cream, the rest was completely stuck to the chopped dates. The only thing I can think of is perhaps I chopped the dates too finely? I also soaked it for nearly 24 hours, not just 10 hours ("overnight") so maybe that's the problem? 

3. The dates would not puree in my blender. Granted, perhaps they might've in a true mini food processor, which I do not own. But I had to add nearly 7-8 tsp, maybe more, of water to get the contents even moving in the blender, and even then, I certainly did not end up with a smooth puree. 

4. The cakes baked nicely in the ramekins. I used a combo of 4 oz and 6 oz ramekins, scooping about 1/3 cup into each, which was fine, no spillover. 

5. With the filling-- though I made a slit and tried to get the filling to soak into the cake, it really didn't. I ended up with at least half the filling leftover. Now, this might be because I introduced a bunch of water into the cake via the date puree, so it wasn't able to absorb the filling. But still. 

6. Served warm, the cake is yummy. But definitely one note, though it's a delicious simple one. I also felt that it was sweet enough, and that ice cream might be overkill.