Clove Tea and Coconut Date Cake

I love tea, and have managed to transfer my affection for this unassuming brew over to my  husband. I am fussy about the temperature and variety and in winter I love to add spices in my tea. Clove is one such variation. The tea I used for this particular recipe was whole leaf Assam tea.
For texture purposes this a full bodies black tea, usually the kind found in the English breakfast blends. This also holds it own with a bold flavor like cloves. To make clove tea my way is pretty simple.

Clove Tea for Two

Prep/Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2.5 cup water
1 tablespoon whole cloves
2 teaspoons loose leaf black tea
Milk (optional)
Honey (Optional)

Method of Preparation

1. Place the water and the cloves in a tea kettle and bring to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes to let the flavor of the cloves steep in.
2. Place the tea in a teapot with an infuser basket and add in the clove water and let the water and tea brew for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Pour the tea in a cup and serve with milk and honey if desired. If like me you likeyour tea straight up, just drink the dark fragrant liquid.

Now, on a holiday I really want something sweet to compliment my tea, only problem being I am not a great baker, but I saw a cake recipe that looked so simple that it was calling my name. I modified it ever so slightly and we were rewarded with a rich tasting date cake that the kids declares was a nice but different tasting chocolate cake.

The cake is made with very few ingredients and you can taste the rich natural sweetness of dates in every bite.

Coconut Date Cake

Prep Time: Overnight (mostly for soaking the dates)

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Make 1 10-inch round cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup low fat milk

1 cup of pitted large dates (I used about 15 large mejdool dates)

1/2 cup dark molasses

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)

1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds

Ingredients

1. Mix the coconut milk, milk and date and leave the dates soaked overnight in the milk mixture in the refrigerator.

2. Place the milk, date and molasses in a blender and blend into a smooth paste.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

4. Grease a round 10-inch cake pan.

5. Sift the flour and baking soda into a mixing bowl.

6. Mix in the oil and add in the date mixture and mix until very smooth, I did this with a wooden spoon and a firm hand.

7. Stir in the almonds, pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This takes about 40 minutes.

8. Turn off the heat and let the cake cool for at least a half hour and serve the cake warm.

So hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend.