I’ve struggled over the years with the definition of coffeecake.
Generally speaking, it’s cake that is meant to be enjoyed with coffee and doesn’t actually contain any.
But then I run into a recipe like I made for this week, which is a coffee cake—a cake that includes coffee.
We hosted an event at the office, where I shared it, and I was constantly saying, “It’s a coffee cake. Like, I mean, it has coffee in it, not like a coffeecake.”
I am also often baffled by when something is a cake or a quick bread. The banana breads and pumpkin breads I grew up with are moist and cake-y. I always thought they were called a quick bread because you made them in a loaf pan.
But then here comes this week’s recipe again, where it’s in a loaf pan, but it’s still a cake.
Regardless of the semantics, this week’s recipe is a must-try and turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser at our get-together.
This comes from the blog “Creative Culinary.” You can find the original post at https://creative-culinary.com/date-coffee-cake-walnuts-espresso/. I added extra spices, vanilla and coffee powder in my version.
Walnut and Date Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 12 ounces dates pitted and diced
- 1 1/2 cups strong hot coffee or espresso
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup walnuts toasted and chopped
Glaze Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup walnuts toasted and chopped
Instructions
Cake Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a nine-by-five inch loaf pan by greasing it and lining it on the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- In a bowl, combine the chopped dates, hot coffee and baking soda, and stir to combine. Set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars for a couple minutes until they are smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Strain the dates, reserving them and the liquid, too.
- Alternate between beating in part of the liquid and the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until everything is smooth and combined.
- Fold in the dates and walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and spread evenly.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan until it is comfortable to handle, remove it from the pan, and let it cool completely before adding the glaze.
Glaze Directions
- In a small bowl, combine the hot water and espresso powder, stirring until the powder is dissolved.
- Add the powdered sugar, melted butter and vanilla, and whisk to get a glaze consistency you’re happy with. If it’s too thick, add just a touch more water until it’s to your liking. If it’s too loose, add just a touch more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle the glaze evenly over the top of the cake (it will run down the sides, too). Sprinkle the walnuts evenly on top, and let the glaze set up before cutting the cake into slices.
- Store in an airtight container.
This had great depth of flavor, and if you like coffee, you’ll definitely like this cake. I served mine in slices, but you could also cube it to serve like more traditional cake. And if you’d rather cut down on the sugar, this would be delicious without the glaze, too.
Just be ready to try to explain to anyone enjoying it with you that it’s a coffee cake, not a coffeecake.
That should be easy enough.
This piece first appeared in print April 3, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
