Whole wheat Date Orange Raspberry Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake

 

I had been toying with the idea of combining the flavors of orange and raspberries and coming up with a moderately healthy loaf cake recipe for the 6 1/4 yo's snackbox. So I pulled up my trusted Eggless Date Cake recipe, made a few changes and ended up with this Whole wheat Date Orange Raspberry Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake. Phew!

Halfway into the process, I had second thoughts whether 6 1/4 yo would like it since he's not a huge fan of raspberries, so threw in a handful of semi sweet chocolate chips to seal the deal.

The end result was a gorgeous, super moist, flavorful loaf and oh, did I mention that the 6 1/4 yo took a bite and said.. "Its so good Mamma, can you give it to me for snack tomorrow!"

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• Whole-wheat flour - 1 Cup
• Dates - 25, pitted
• Milk - 1 Cup
• Oil - 2 tbsp.
• Egg - 1 large, at room temperature
• Sugar - 2 tbsp (you can skip the sugar)
• Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice - 1/4 Cup
• Orange Zest - of a whole orange
• Baking Soda - 1 tsp
• Chocolate Chips - 1/4 Cup or more
• Handful of raspberries - Optional

 

In a bowl, soak the dates in the milk and leave it in the fridge overnight.

 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour. Shake off the excess flour and set aside.

In the blender, puree the date-milk mix along with the oil and sugar. Add the egg and give it a quick pulse. Pour in the orange juice and pulse it one more time. Fold in the orange zest. Do not over-mix. Transfer the batter to a bowl.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon and baking soda and set aside.

Add the flour-mix to the date-mix about 1/4th cup at a time and whisk it till the entire mixture comes together nicely. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips gently.

Let the batter hang out for 20 minutes.

Pour the batter into the greased pan, randomly place the raspberries and push them in slightly.

and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes till done (baking time will differ). Insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, it is good to go.

Cool down completely before serving. Slice and serve. Drizzle some ganache if you wish.

 

Store leftovers in an airtight container.