Grandma Donna had three somewhat different recipes for this cake in her recipe book which makes me think she must have really liked this cake. I have created a sort of mash-up of her recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates, cut small
- 1 tbsp orange rind, zested
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable shortening (or 1 cup Earth balance)
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice (approx. half an orange)
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Yield: 10-12 slices
Put dates and orange rind in bowl and pour the 1 cup of boiling water over them. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 375o.
Beat egg whites until stiff.
In a large separate bowl, beat sugar and shortening together. Beat in the egg yolks. Then incorporate the date mixture (including the water) and orange juice.
In another separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients then add them to the wet ingredients.
Finally, fold in the stiff egg whites. Bake in a tube pan for 55 mins.
Glaze
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 orange, juiced
- dash lemon juice
Mix the ingredients and pour onto cake when it is hot from the oven.
Grandma Donna's Cookbook 
Looks beautiful!
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