Autumn Date Cake

Special thanks to iHerb for sponsoring this post! All recipes, photos, and opinions are my own.

It is officially fall! So it is time to fire up the oven, because we have some baking to do. There is literally nothing I love more than the smell of fresh baked treats and crisp wind in the air. But, between work, my munchkin, and an overall hectic schedule, I do not always have time to get all the ingredients on my baking list. In walks iHerb like a tall glass of pumpkin spice latte. With over 30,000 natural products from 150+ countries, iHerb is the perfect place to find all your fall baking essentials. Today, I have teamed up with the company to create a perfectly delicious seasonal treat using ingredients found on their website. Who’s up for an Autumn Date Cake with Clove Buttercream and a Salted Maple & Pumpkin Seed Topping?!

Autumn Date Cake

Featuring Clove Buttercream and Salted Maple & Pumpkin Seed topping!

Time: 1 hour; Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 2/3 cup of Nature’s Wild pitted dates
• 2 ¼ cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 baking flour
• 2 cups of Confectioners’ sugar
• 1 ½ cups of Wholesome Sweeteners light brown sugar
• 2/3 + ¾ cups (divided) of butter (softened)
• 2/3 cup of whole milk
• ¼ cup of Y.S. Eco Bee Farms wildflower honey
• ¼ cup of Wilderness Poets pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons of Simply Organic Madagascar vanilla
• 4 tablespoons (divided) of Coombs Family Farms maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon of Aloha Bay Himalayan crystal salt
• 1 teaspoon of Simple Organic ground cloves
• 2 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9 x 9” pan.
2. Add the pitted dates, vanilla, and honey to a blender or food processor. Blend until pureed into a thick paste.
3. In a stand mixer, beat together 2/3 cup of butter and the brown sugar until thoroughly mixed. Then mix in the eggs, flour, and milk until a thick batter is formed. Lastly, mix in the date puree thoroughly.
4. Pour the batter into the greased pan and place in the oven. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool.
5. While the cake is cooling, make the clove buttercream. In a stand mixer, thoroughly mix together ¾ cup of butter and the Confectioner’s sugar until light and fluffy. Gently mix in the cloves and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Set aside.
6. To assemble the cake, cut out 2-3 rounds using a 3” round cake cutter. Stack and spread buttercream generously between each layer and then frost the outside of the cake. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of maple syrup on top of the cake and then top with the pumpkin seeds and Himalayan crystal salt. Enjoy!

I am a working mom with a preschooler. Life is often utter chaos. So, that is why I absolutely love companies like iHerb. It is a one-stop-shop for all my organic baking needs. Seriously, instead of worrying about writing up a list and scouring the aisles of my local market, I can just do all my shopping online with iHerb. I literally purchased 70% of my recipe ingredients from the online marketplace and had them delivered straight to my door. It couldn’t have been more easy and stress free! Plus as an extra bonus, iHerb offers 24/7 customer service in 10 different languages and ships all orders from climate-controlled distribution centers, thus ensuring quality products arriving at your doorstep. Note: If you’re located outside of the US, you can view your country’s shipping method from iHerb here.

But that’s enough fawning over the iHerb website, let’s get to the recipe tutorial! Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9 x 9” pan. Add 1 2/3 cup of Nature’s Wild pitted dates, 2 teaspoons of Simply Organic Madagascar vanilla, and ¼ cup of Y.S. Eco Bee Farms wildflower honey to a blender or food processor. Blend until pureed into a thick paste.

In a stand mixer, beat together 2/3 cup of butter and 1 ½ cups of Wholesome Sweeteners light brown sugar until thoroughly mixed. Then mix in 2 large eggs, milk, and 2 ¼ cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 baking flour until a thick batter is formed. Lastly, mix in the date puree thoroughly.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and place in the oven. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool. While the cake is cooling, make the clove buttercream. In a stand mixer, thoroughly mix together ¾ cup of butter and 2 cups of Confectioner’s sugar until light and fluffy. Gently mix in 1 teaspoon of Simple Organic ground cloves and 2 tablespoons of Coombs Family Farms maple syrup. Set aside.

To assemble the cake, cut out 2-3 rounds using a 3” round cake cutter. Note: You can opt to skip this step and just ice the cake as is. Stack and spread buttercream generously between each layer and then frost the outside of the cake.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of Coombs Family Farms maple syrup on top of the cake and then top with ¼ cup of Wilderness Poets pumpkin seeds and 1 teaspoon of Aloha Bay Himalayan crystal salt.

And that’s it! Now it’s time to enjoy your Autumn masterpiece…

So what do you think? Are you joining me on this seasonal baking journey? If the answer is “Yes!” make sure to order your ingredients from iHerb. *Psst!* New customers will get a 10% discount off of their first iHerb order by clicking here or using the code “AUD0970”! (No minimum purchase). Have a scrumptious Autumn!