Date Cake with caramel sauce

This is one of my favorite cake that my mum used to bake for us when we were young. I just loved the aroma that filled the house when we came back from school. This cake is incredibly light, moist & delicious! The dates gives it a caramel flavor.Im really grateful that mum kept all these recipes, and that I had the chance to bake it for her. I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup hot water
1 cup pitted and chopped dates
2 Large eggs
½ cup powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup oil

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 165 C
2.Butter the baking pan, line with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
3. Place the dates and hot water in a bowl, cover it with cling film and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

 4. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl and set aside.

5. In a large mixing bowl cream the eggs and vanilla until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the powder sugar and continue mixing. Pour in the oil slowly and mix well.
6. Once cool, mash the dates just little bit with a fork and add to the creamed sugar and egg mix. Mix well.
7. Finally add the flour and mix until just combined, about a minute on low speed.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until risen and cooked when tested with a toothpick. Allow to cool in the pan, then carefully unmold.
9. While its cooling, make the caramel sauce (Recipe follows) and pour it over your warm date cake, and sprinkle with some sliced almonds.



Caramel sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 cup cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1.Put all ingredients into a saucepan and gently bring to the boil, stirring frequently to avoid it catching on the bottom.
2.Reduce the heat and simmer for around 10 minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the sauce has thickened.
3.Don’t taste-test—the sauce will be super hot! Just trust that it will be all kinds of buttery, caramely goodness.
4. Serve hot over warm date cake.

Cinnamon Swirl Buns with CreamCheese Glaze

The pungent aroma of cinnamon is unmistakable!

Recent studies show that cinnamon enhances the ability of insulin to metabolize glucose, helping to control blood sugar levels. Also, One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory!

Last week i went grocery shopping in the morning and passed by "Cinnabon" for breakfast, and bought some mini cinnamon rolls. I watched them bake my cinnamon rolls, You could really smell the aroma of the cinnamon all over the place.

The day after i decided to bake my own cinnamon rolls, and to be honest, they tasted just like the “Cinnabon” version! yes it did!

Cinnamon Swirl Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze
Maked about 18 buns

Dough:
2 ¾ cups of flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon yeast
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup warm water
½ cup yogurt
Filling:

1 ¼ cups (packed) golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 stick butter,100gm)
Glaze:
It tastes exactly like the “Cinnabon” version.
1 Stick unsalted Butter , at room temperature
1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
100 grams Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp Vanilla


For the dough:
In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add 2 ½ cups of flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and the yeast. Mix for couple of seconds until they are all mixed together. Then add the oil, warm water & yogurt. Beat until you have a dough that isn’t sticky. If dough is still sticky , add the remaining ¼ cups flour or more until the dough begins to form into a ball and pulls away from sides of the bowl.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5-6 kneads).
After kneading the dough, transfer to a lightly oiled medium bowl, cover your dough with drops of oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

For Filling:
Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Transfer the dough onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into almost 15x11inches rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough leaving about ½ inch border. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the dough. Starting at the long side, begin rolling the dough into a log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up.
(How to roll your dough)

With a thin sharp knife cut the dough into 18 pieces.
Butter your square or rectangular baking pan ( I used a round dish). Then start placing the rolls into the baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest and rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30mins.
Position rack in center of oven ,Preheat the oven 190°c (375°F). Bake the rolls until the top is golden brown, about 20min. Remove from oven and let it cool about 5min.

For the Glaze:
In a medium bowl with an electric mixture, Soften butter and cream cheese. Then add the icing sugar and vanilla beat until smooth. Spread glaze on warm rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Notes:
You can also add a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to your glaze mix
You can get creative with the filling, you can add chopped walnuts with the cinnamon mixture or even chocolate chips if you love chocolate.
Serve them warm, you can always heat the buns before serving them so they stay soft.