Christmas Date and Sugarcane Syrup Cake with Date Cream and Coconut

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 175 °C. Grease the 22 cm round pan and line the base with baking paper.
2. Reserve one tablespoon of the 280 g flour to mix with the dates. Sift the rest with the baking powder and salt.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, then add the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl, mix the milk with the sugarcane syrup.
4. Add the dry ingredients and the milk mixture alternately, beating just until combined. Fold in the floured dates with a spatula.

   

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 50–60 minutes, depending on your oven, until a skewer comes out without raw batter. Let rest for 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely; allow about 90 minutes of cooling in total, including the initial rest.

   

Date cream

6. Dissolve the flour in some of the cold milk, then add the remaining milk, sugar and dates. Cook, stirring, until thickened, then maintain a gentle simmer for 2 minutes to cook the flour.

   

7. Transfer the cream to a shallow container, cover with food-safe plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface, and chill in the refrigerator while the cake cools.

Assembly

8. When the cake and date cream are cold, cut the cake horizontally into two layers and spread the date cream between them.

   

9. Whip the well-chilled cream with the sugar until it holds its shape. Cover the cake, scatter the grated coconut over the top and decorate with the well-drained cherries.

   

10. Refrigerate the assembled cake for 2 hours before cutting, and always keep it in the refrigerator because of the filling and topping.