Banana Date Cake
Description
Banana Date Cake - Authentic recipe from Israel. Ready in 60 min. Vegan. Try it now!
Directions
✓ researched- 1
Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a loaf pan. Mash 3 ripe bananas and chop 150 g dates. Note: The recipe is missing a leavening agent. Since it contains neither baking powder/baking soda nor eggs, the cake will be very dense — add 1–2 tsp baking powder for a lighter crumb.
⏱️ approx. 12 min💡 Tip: Important: The recipe is missing a leavening agent. Since it contains neither baking powder/baking soda nor eggs, the cake will be very dense — add 1–2 tsp baking powder for a lighter crumb.
- 2
Mix 200 g flour and 100 g sugar. Tip: Classic banana bread needs 1 tsp baking soda or baking powder — it is missing from this recipe. Without a leavening agent the loaf will be very dense.
⏱️ approx. 8 min💡 Tip: Very ripe, spotty bananas provide the most sweetness and moisture. Dates enhance the natural sweetness.
- 3
Add the bananas, dates and 100 ml vegetable oil, stir into a batter, pour into the pan and bake for 50–55 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
⏱️ approx. 55 min💡 Tip: Without a leavening agent this makes a dense, moist banana bread; with baking soda it will be lighter. Walnuts or chocolate chips go well with it.
📜 Origin & History
Banana-Date Cake (Hebrew: עוגת בננה ותמרים, Ugat Banana v'Tamarim; English: Israeli Banana-Date Cake) is an Israeli everyday pastry: mashed ripe bananas and soft Medjool dates are baked with eggs, whole wheat flour, coconut oil, cinnamon, and cardamom into a moist, naturally sweetened cake. The combination of banana and date is widespread in Yemenite-Jewish cuisine: Yemenite Jews (Teimanim) brought a deep date culture to Israel. Bananas are grown in Israel in the Jordan Valley and the Beit Shean Valley: Israeli bananas (Banana Kfar) are smaller and more aromatic than imported varieties. The cake contains neither butter nor milk and is naturally parve and suitable for vegan diets—a quality highly valued in Israeli cuisine. Banana-date cake is a common café and bakery offering in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In Germany, all ingredients are available in supermarkets.
🌿 Regional variants
With walnuts
Fold in chopped walnuts — a classic addition to banana bread.
With chocolate
Add chocolate chips for a sweeter variation.
🍷 What goes with it?
Sliced with butter for breakfast or with coffee, with nuts or chocolate chips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does banana bread need a leavening agent?
Yes — classically 1 tsp baking soda or baking powder; this recipe omits it, so the loaf will remain very dense without adding one.
Which bananas are best?
Very ripe, brown-spotted ones — they are the sweetest and make the bread moist.
How do you make it even moister?
With soaked dates, a little extra oil or a spoonful of apple sauce.
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Ingredients
verified- Banana3 pcs
- Dates150 g
- Flour200 g
- Sugar100 g
- Plant Oil100 ml
