Flavors: Date, Orange and Olive Oil Cake

The palm groves of Morocco are breathtaking. Miles of trees producing some of the most high-quality dates I have ever seen.

On my travels, some Bedouin men showed me that if you warm dates in olive oil before placing them in a tangine, it helps bring out the flavor of the caramel in the date. This got me to thinking and led to this recipe.

Salted White Chocolate Ice Cream

Put the sugar and 1 cup (250 milliliters) of water in a saucepan over low heat to dissolve. Add the white chocolate and mix until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. 

Using an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks at moderate-high speed until thick and pale, then add to the cooled chocolate. 

Whip the cream to stiff peaks in the mixer with the whisk attachment. 

Fold the chocolate into the cream using a spatula. Season with salt to taste. 

Pour the mixture into a container and freeze for 2-3 hours. 

Date Orange and Olive Oil Cake

Mix the breadcrumbs, almond meal, 1 cup of the sugar, the ras el hanout and baking powder together in a bowl.

Whisk the eggs together in a bowl with the olive oil. Add the zests and stir to combine. Fold the egg mixture into the breadcrumb mixture until just combined. 

Line a 21-centimeter-by-11-centimeter loaf pan with parchment paper and pour in the mixture. Place the cake in a cold oven and turn on to 170 degrees Celsius (340 degrees Fahrenheit). Bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is golden, and cooked when tested with a skewer. 

Put the remaining ingredients with the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from the heat. 

Remove the cake from the oven and pierce all over with a wooden skewer. Drizzle over the spiced syrup and leave for a few minutes to soak up the syrup. 

To Serve

Remove the salted white chocolate ice cream from the freezer and leave to soften slightly. Cut the cake into slices and serve warm or cold with the ice cream.

Reprinted with permission from
East/West: A Culinary Journey Through Malta, Lebanon, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, and Andalusia
Shane Delia. 
Interlink Books, 2017. 
interlinkbooks.com

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Shane Delia is the star of the television show Shane Delia’s Spice Journey and the chef and owner of Maha restaurant and Biggie Smalls Kebab Shop. He is based in Melbourne, Australia. His Lebanese wife, Maha, is the inspiration and namesake of his restaurant. Together they have two children, a daughter, Jayda, and a son, Jude. This is his second book.