Gluten Free Date Walnut Cake {Tu B'Shevat}

This moist and delicious gluten free date walnut cake is perfect for breakfast with coffee or tea, or as a dessert. It is filled with pieces of juicy dates and pecans or walnuts to make this wonderful cake. It is a great cake for celebrating Tu B'Shevat, a celebration of the birthday of the trees.

Have you heard of the celebration for the tree's birthday? Although it is considered a minor Jewish holiday, it is one of my favorites as it celebrates nature and the bounty we receive from trees. Dates and nuts are just two of my favorite things and I really wanted to combine them into a new gluten free dessert recipe.

Tu BiShvat means "New Year of the Trees" and is considered the Jewish Arbor Day. Surprisingly, the holiday name has several different spellings. Although we honor trees on this day, you can enjoy this gluten free date walnut cake recipe all year long! 

Many like to plant trees to celebrate the holiday. Personally, I take this as a great excuse to bake using the bounty from trees like fruits and nuts. You will love baking this Gluten Free Creamy Apple Cake, this Gluten Free Almond Flour Orange Cake, or this fruity Gluten Free Plum Crisp.

If you love cake as much as we do, I have a TON of delicious gluten free cake recipes on the blog that I hope you enjoy.

Why This Cake is Great:

1. This date nut cake recipe is both gluten free AND dairy-free, plus there is an easy nut-free option, so it is perfect if you have multiple food allergies. You can use walnuts, pecans, or any kind of nuts.
2. Dates naturally sweeten this cake, so you can cut back on the amount of sugar you use if you choose. You can also use coconut sugar in place of regular sugar if you prefer a low-glycemic sweetener.
3. You can bake this cake in a cake pan, a loaf pan, or frost it to make it a nice layer cake. There are so many options!
4. This cake freezes nicely so you can make it ahead, then thaw it when you are ready to serve it.

Delicious and easy to make! I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing."

Justine, blog comment

Another fun Jewish treat that is perfect for Tu Bishvat is this Gluten Free Mandelbrot Cookies recipe. They are fabulous dipped in coffee or tea!

Ingredient Notes:

• Gluten Free Flour Blend - Many gluten free flour blends will work in this easy date nut cake recipe. I have tried both King Arthur GF Measure for Measure and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend in this recipe. Note that if your recipe doesn't contain Xanthan Gum, you will need to add 1 teaspoon. My DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend also works well in this recipe.
• Brown Sugar - You can use this sweetener or coconut sugar. One of my readers let me know that monk fruit sweetener works well in this recipe.
• Baking Powder - Use aluminum-free if you can.
• Nuts - I switch between walnuts and pecans when I make this date nut cake, but you can use any nuts you like.
• Dates - Be sure to remove the pit before using the dates.
• Eggs - Use size large.
• Coconut Oil - You can use another oil if you prefer.
• Honey - You can use inexpensive honey in this recipe. Just make sure it is 100% honey with no additives.
• Almond Milk - This is what I used, but any non-dairy or regular milk will also work.

Are you ready to make this easy gluten free date cake recipe?

Tips For Sucess:

• Do not use a stand mixer for this recipe. I find a stand mixer will overmix your batter, leaving the cake denser.
• Add the dates to the dry ingredients and mix them in. This will prevent all of your chopped dates from sticking together. You may need to separate the chunks of dates in the flour with your hands.
• Add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of your cake pan. This will help the date and walnut cake slide out of the pan easier.

Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:

Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend. If you see clumps of brown sugar (or coconut sugar) use your fingers to break them up.

Add the chopped dates now. See the Tips for Success on why this is important.

Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix well. If your coconut oil is hard, be sure to melt it so it is warm (not hot.)

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and add the nuts. Mix these together gently. You do not want to overmix your cake batter

Step 4: Your cake batter will look like this consistency. Note that every gluten free flour blend is different. You may need to add more liquid depending on how starchy your gluten free flour blend is.

Step 5: If you use a cake pan for this cake, spray the pan with coconut oil and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. You can also do this step if you use a loaf pan.

To get the piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of your cake pan, cut a square of parchment paper out then place the cake pan on top. Use a pencil or pen to trace the bottom of the cake pan. Use scissors to cut it out.

Step 6: Use a large spoon to spread the cake batter in the pan. Bake the date cake at 350º F for 30 minutes until done. (*Note, if you use a loaf pan, your baking time may be a little longer.)

To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cake needs to be baked longer.

Reader Substitution Success:

I did change the sugar with lakanto monk fruit as a sugar replacement and it turned out great."

Nicole V. Pinterest User

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:

You may also love this simple Gluten Free Cherry Cake recipe.

More Tu B'Shevat recipes:

• Moist Gluten Free Banana Bread makes a delicious breakfast or snack!
• Stone fruit is the star in this Gluten Free Peach Cobbler recipe!
• Why buy granola when you can make this Homemade Cinnamon Granola at home?
• Mandarin oranges bake under the skin in this Roasted Mandarin Chicken and it is so good for dinner.
• Don't stop at your meals with fruit. Why not enjoy fresh grapefruit in this Grapefruit Margaritas recipe!

📖 Recipe

Gluten Free Date Nut Cake

Sandi Gaertner

A delicious gluten free date nut cake that is perfect for Tu B'shevat or any time. Simple to make as a cake or a loaf.

5 from 8 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Gluten Free Dessert Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 291 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup gluten free flour blend
• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ ¾ cup coconut oil melted, other oils are okay too.
• ▢ ½ cup honey
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅓ cup almond milk or another milk
• ▢ ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• ▢ ½ cup chopped dates pits removed

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350º F. Set the oven rack to the middle position.
• Chop your dates and nuts, carefully removing the pit from each date.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
• Add the chopped dates to the dry ingredients. Toss to coat, breaking up any chunks of dates that stuck together. The flour is good to keep all of the sticky pieces from clumping together.
• In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the pecans. Mix until the batter is just mixed. Try not to over mix the batter.
• Spray coconut oil in a baking dish. Line the bottom of the round cake pan with parchment paper.
• Spread the cake batter out in the cake pan. You can also use a loaf pan if you prefer.
• Bake for 30 minutes until done. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to test doneness. If the toothpick comes back clean, the cake is done baking. If there is batter or crumbs on the toothpick, you will need to bake it a little longer.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.

Video

Notes

1. It is helpful to melt the coconut oil and honey together so the wet ingredients blend together easily.
2. I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
3. If your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain Xanthan Gum, add 1 teaspoon.
4. Baking time may vary depending on if you use a round cake pan or a bread loaf tin.
5. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the donut. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the donuts need to bake longer.
6. This cake will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 3gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 47mgPotassium: 123mgFiber: 2gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 43IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

This post was updated with more information from an older January 2020 post.