Dates

I'll be talking about dates this week on my regular local ABC slot.... not, that I'm on an expert on dates - because I'm not... but I do have quite a few dates in my fridge and I'd like to cook with them, rather than snack on them continuously.. And besides, they're a locally grown product.

Dates are one of the rare foods we have in abundance in Alice Springs. They sell for around $20/kg depending on the variety. The best looking ones are the Medjool but not always the best tasting. My favourites are the the Deglet Noor (or bread) dates which I haven't seen in shops at the moment. The don't look great. They're hard and caramel like, and quite addictive. Recently I have purchased the Kadrawi variety, and they're good, but not as good as the Deglet Noor. There are many other varieties, for further info check out the Aridgold farm website at:
http://aridgold.com/date_varieties.htm

I have been told - anecdotally - that the beautiful plump dates in supermarkets have actually been steamed to look better and of course weigh more. However, beauty is not always the best when it comes to dates, at least not cooking with dates.

Now you don't need to cook with dates. They're such a sweet treat by themselves, not to mention eaten with almonds and/or ricotta. But this is a cooking blog, so cook with dates we must.

I've been asking around for 'date recipes' amongst friends, acquaintances and work colleagues... . The first recipe that everyone talks about is traditional date or date and walnut loaf. Doesn't have much appeal to me. And then there's the ubiquitous sticky date pudding - which has now become so popular that you can buy it as a prepackaged dessert in supermarkets. What I am searching for is a middle-eastern meat and rice dish with dates. Comments and recipes, please!

However, instead my friend Barb gave me her steamed date recipe, as follows:
Boil up fresh orange juice, lemon juice and seeded, chopped dates. Cook until a paste is formed. Let cool and put in a jar.
Great on toast.

Date, Chocolate and Almond Torte Recipe

Many thanks to Libby Kartzoff, Gary Fry and his sister Jen for this recipe. Apparently the original recipe was from an old Gourmet Traveller by Kay and John Hansen, but a similar recipe can be found in Stephanie Alexander's Cookbook, but I notice the quantities are different and she doesn't use almonds.
In total I made 2.5 times the original recipe of varying size cake tins. I would think this recipe would have been best in my 26 cm spring form cake tin.
Torte Ingredients:
250g almonds, unpeeled
250g dark chocolate (Callebaut or Couverture)
250g dates
6 eggs whites (Free Range)
1/2 cup sugar

Utensils:
Stainless Steel bowls
Electric Mixer
Food processor
Spatula

Method:
1. Chop almonds and chocolate into chunky pieces in the food processor
2. Cut dates finely
3. Beat eggs whites till they hold stiff peaks
4. Gradually add castor sugar
5. Fold in chopped nuts, chocolate and dates
6. Cook 160-180 degrees in lined spring-form pan - 45 minutes
7. Open oven door and allow to cool
8. Put in fridge overnight. Wait until cool/cold to decorate and cut
as can be very crumbly.

Decoration:
Spread with sweetened whipped cream with vanilla (not too sweet). I also made a chocolate ganache by melting chocolate with cream in a double boiler and letting it cool a bit, then dribbling over cake.

I added some pomegranate molasses, rosewater and castor sugar to the berries to give them a bit of extra flavour.

The Birthday Torte - Finale

All done and what a hit.. no iPhone, no camera, so had to use on my old Nokia phone.. hence the quality of the photo.. but the cake was a great.
I ended up cooking three of the Tortes, and two chocolate mousse cakes of varying sizes, thinking I could put them all together.
However, at the last minute I ditched all my presentation ideas and went for a single spectacular 'look' with the three Tortes of varying sizes, fixing them together with whipped cream, covering the whole think with whipped cream, then dripping chocolate ganache (unwhipped) creatively over the entire edifice. Finishing it off with berries, ribbon, some leaves at the bottom and three of my mother's day flowers. (Left the chocolate mousse cakes for extras.)
To serve it though was a bit of challenge.. what I did was take off each cake and place it on a separate plate and cut from there. I would then quickly redecorate the remaining layer so that guests didn't feel like they missed out on the topping.
It looked good and tasted fantastic, and what I discovered is that guests really, really want a piece of the BIRTHDAY CAKE. They don't want a piece of chocolate mousse cake.. or cheese cake, although these were equally delicious and made with as much love ..they just want a piece of the action.. and there was plenty to go around.
Still feeling the warm glow of cooking compliments, although I must acknowledge the generous persons who gave the recipe to me.. Hopefully coming soon!

The Birthday Torte - Stage 2

One cake down, and now my camera is on the blink. Jorge is complaining of the dates... do I make 4 more cakes and place them on a large board in this sort of a design.. And of these 4 cakes, should they all be Date, Chocolate & Walnut Tortes, or do I make 2 different ones.. what is the etiquette of a birthday cake? This is my idea for the presentation of the cakes on a painted board I have.. one cake for each decade?

The Birthday Torte - Stage 1

Well, I now have well over a kilo of local dates.. not the plump ones, the other ones that don't look as good but taste better (Khadrawi dates), a kilo of dark cooking chocolate (Callebaut - see note below), a kilo of almonds, 2 dozen eggs and a few bags of castor sugar. With any luck I should have a couple of Chocolate, Date and Almond Tortes this time tomorrow.


(Note: Callebaut chocolate is apparently the chocolate used by "artisans and chefs".. Check out their website at http://www.barry-callebaut.com/)

Date, Chocolate and Almond (Birthday) Torte

I have agreed to make a cake for 60 people for a 50th birthday.. how exciting and how daunting. And, is it completely fool hardy to use a recipe that I have never used before?
I am thinking a Date, Chocolate and Almond Torte.. of varying sizes.. laid out on a board.. wait and see.