A Date with Chocolate Cake :)

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Now on to this post.
A date with chocolate! Now that's a date I'd never pass on. If you have been a regular visitor to my blog you must know by now that I have a clear obsession with chocolate. Most of my baked goodies are either chocolate based or consist of nutella or both. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so-much-so that every time I eat anything sweet, I immediately need to eat something savory or spicy to 'clean' my palate. With chocolate, the story is a little different. Every time I think of dessert, I think chocolate. Even when I am online looking for ideas, I type chocolate based search words... even when I am blog hopping, the category I check is chocolate baked goodies. You get the idea.

I regularly make a date based breakfast cake that hubs loves to eat with his cereal before he leaves for work every morning. This time around, when I was in the mood to bake some cake with the leftover dates I got the other day, while mixing the batter came the bright (read:obvious for me) idea of adding chocolate and the result was magical, a soft chocolaty perfect breakfast cake. Added bonus is now I can eat it for breakfast too. Being butterless and eggless makes it even better.

Ingredients:

All-purpose Flour .................. 1 1/2cups
Dates ............................... 15-18 ( about 1 cup pitted and chopped)
Warm Water ....................... 3/4 cup, for soaking
Walnuts............................. 1/4 cup chopped
Coco powder  ..................... 3 tbsp(unsweetened)
Choco chips ........................ 1/4 cup (I used dark)
Sweetened Condensed Milk ...... 1 14oz can (I use fat free)
Milk .................................. 1/2 cup
Oil ................................... 1/2 cup
Baking Soda ........................ 1  tsp
Baking Powder ..................... 2 tsp
Salt .................................. a pinch
Cinnamon powder ................. 1/4 tsp (optional)

Method:
1. Soak the dates in warm water for about 30-45 minutes to soften them.
2. Sift the all purpose flour along with the coco powder, baking Powder, salt, cinnamon and baking Soda.
3. Drain the water from the dates and blend the dates with milk to a smooth paste. Add in the condensed milk followed by oil and pulse/blend for 30 sec to combine.
4. Add the date paste to the dry flour mix and mix with a spatula till no dry flour is left.
5. Fold in the Walnuts and chocolate chips well.
6. Spray/Grease a 10" round baking pan and pour the batter into it.
7. Bake in a 375ºF oven for 30-35 minutes on the middle rack till a cake tester comes clean.
8. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes before taking it out of the pan. Cut in pieces. ENJOY!

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