This healthy date cake is a delicious, moist loaf cake which is naturally sweetened with dates and apples. There's no added sugar in the recipe, and this healthy date cake is also low-fat, with a caramel-like flavour and a soft texture, perfect for everyday baking. It's easy to make and great for snacks, dessert, or lunchbox treats.
Recipe Summary: Healthy Date Cake (No Added Sugar)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8
Key ingredients: Dates, apples, wholemeal flour, egg
Nutritional highlights: No added sugar, healthy high-fibre wholemeal flour, dates and apples
Allergy info: Nut-free, easy to make gluten-free and dairy-free
Convenience: Quick and easy to make with 6 ingredients, freezes well
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Why you'll love the recipe
- Naturally sweetened with dates and apples, with no added sugar or sweeteners. Dates and apples contain natural sugars, but these are combined with fibre and the benefits of whole fruits. In addition to sweetness, they also give the loaf cake a delicious, moist texture.
- Wholemeal flour adds extras nutrients and fibre, as well as a lovely nutty flavour
- Sugar-free date cake is healthy, low-fat and low-calorie. It is lighter and less overpoweringly sweet than a traditional recipe, and there's no butter and no oil
- Can easily be made gluten-free and dairy-free
- This easy date bread is quick to make with only 6 ingredients (plus optional cinnamon!)
- Perfect for snacks, lunchboxes or with a cup of tea
Whether you call it a date bread, date loaf or healthy date cake, this no-added-sugar cake recipe is a lighter alternative to traditional cakes with all of the flavour and none of the refined sugar.
PS. You might also like this naturally sweetened carrot apple and sultana loaf recipe. It's quite similar to this date loaf and has always been very popular with readers! Or try this healthy ginger cake, which is also naturally sweetened with dates and apples.
Ingredients
You'll need just 6 ingredients for this easy, everyday bake.
Dates. I used a block of cooking dates. These are much cheaper than buying whole dates, and as they are chopped and soaked in the recipe, I don't think you'll notice the difference.
However, you can use stoned whole dates if you prefer (medjool or deglet noor). Medjool dates do have a fantastic, rich caramel flavour, but I'd rather eat those whole and use budget-friendly cooking dates in my baking! Soft medjool dates do not need soaking.
If you are a fan of healthy date recipes, you might also love these date truffles, or healthy date slices, which have a thick layer of date puree through the centre.
Apples provide a lovely sweet moist texture to the cake. Sugar-free date cake is made without oil or butter, but because of the apples, it has a moist, soft texture. Use a sweet dessert apple for the best flavour.
Plain wholemeal flour. I used spelt flour, but you can use plain wholewheat flour, or white flour if you prefer. If you use self raising flour, cut the baking powder down to half a teaspoonful.
You can also make a gluten-free healthy date cake with a gluten-free flour blend. To add a little extra nutrition and fibre, switch a couple of tablespoons of the gluten-free flour for ground flaxseed. I always do this when using gluten-free flour as most blends are very low in fibre. You may need to add a little more milk to the recipe.
Baking powder will provide some rise to the cake.
Egg provides structure and rise.
Milk - you'll just need a little milk in the recipe - dairy-free milk can be used if preferred.
Cinnamon is optional. It provides extra sweetness and a lightly spiced flavour. If you don't like cinnamon, either leave it out or use another ground spice such as cardamom which goes well with dates.
Optional ingredients
I've made this cake nut-free, but why not try a healthy date and walnut cake, or date and pecan loaf with no refined sugar?
Add about 50g of roughly chopped nuts and stir them into the mixture by hand. Avoid adding them to the food processor otherwise, you'll lose the crunchy texture.
How to make healthy date cake
Chop the dates into pieces about the size of a large sultana, and leave them to soak in boiling water whilst you get on with the rest of the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan).
Line the base of a 450g loaf tin with baking paper. Grease the sides of the tin.
Cut away the unpeeled apples from the core and chop them into rough pieces. Add to a food processor and blitz with an S-blade until the apple looks finely grated.
Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, egg and milk. Blitz until the mixture comes together into a smoothish cake batter.
Drain the dates. Squeeze out any excess water. Add the dates to the cake batter and stir in by hand. Don't blitz them with the food processor blade otherwise they'll be too finely chopped, and you'll lose some of the taste and texture. I've made this mistake more than once myself before!
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, and smooth out with the back of the spoon.
Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes. The baked cake will smell delicious and should be firm and springy to the touch.
Once the cake is cool enough to handle, remove from the tin and peel away the baking paper. Leave to finish cooling on a wire rack.
To make healthy date loaf without a food processor
Finely grate the apple and add to a bowl. Beat the egg in a separate bowl.
Stir all of the remaining ingredients plus the egg into the grated apple and mix well. Bake as per the recipe above.
Baking tips
This recipe makes a smallish-sized loaf cake. It's cooked in a 450g loaf tin, also known as a 1lb loaf tin. The dimensions are approximately 19 x 10 cm (7.5 x 4 inches).
If you want a large sugar-free date loaf, double the recipe quantities and bake in a 900g (2lb) loaf tin. Cook the larger cake for an additional 20 minutes.
You can also cook a double-sized cake in a 9-inch round tin.
I've soaked the dates in this recipe so that they are meltingly soft and delicious. If you'd prefer them a little chewier, or your dates are very soft to start with, you can omit this step.
It's important to drain soaked dates very well and remove all excess water so that the cake batter and baked cake do not end up too soft and wet.
Serving and storage
This date cake without sugar can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Store at room temperature, unless it is particularly warm, in which case store it in the fridge.
You can also freeze this easy date loaf. Either wrap and freeze the whole cake, or wrap individual slices. I find individually wrapped slices are especially convenient when I fancy a healthy snack!
This healthy date cake is ideal as a clean-eating healthy snack at any time of day. You could even enjoy it guilt-free for breakfast! It's also easy to wrap a slice or two of this delicious loaf cake for a lunchbox treat. And each slice has fewer than 130 calories.
If you want to serve date loaf cake as a more indulgent dessert, drizzle over a couple of tablespoons of this 5-minute tahini caramel sauce, which complements the flavour of dates perfectly.
Frequently asked questions
This recipe contains no added sugar or refined sugar. However, it's important to know that dates and apples contain natural sugars. As they are combined with fibre, they have a lower impact on blood sugar. Whilst sugar-free date cake is a convenient shorthand, technically it's no-added-sugar date cake made with natural sweetness from fruit! It contains a third of the sugar of a classic date cake recipe.
Many cake recipes and bought cakes are very high in added sugar. However, you can still enjoy a delicious cake without added sugar. I like to sweeten cakes with fruit, and sometimes I'll add a couple of tablespoons of honey. Why not browse these low-sugar cake recipes?
That depends! A sugar-free cake could still be loaded with artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated fats and saturated fat, so check the recipe or packaging. This healthy sugar-free date loaf cake is naturally sweetened with fruit, and is made with wholemeal flour for extra fibre and nutrients. It is made without butter or oil and contains a fraction of the saturated fat of a traditional date cake.
Other healthy cakes with no refined sugar
You might like to try some of these other sugar free cake recipes. They are all free from added table sugar and artificial sweeteners. Some recipes contain a small amount of honey, most are sweetened with the natural, unrefined sugars in fresh or dried fruit.
Other healthy date recipes
I love dates and often use them for natural sweetness in recipes. These other healthy date recipes are all made without added sugar, but still taste delicious.
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Recipe
Healthy Date Cake (No Added Sugar)
Equipment
- 450g (1lb) loaf tin
- baking paper
- Food processor optional
Ingredients
- 100 g dates pitted
- 3 medium apples
- 125 g plain wholemeal flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Cut the dates into sultana-sized pieces. Place in a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to one side.100 g dates
- Oil the sides of the baking tin and line the base with baking paper.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan).
- Cut the flesh of the apple away from the core (no need to peel). Add the pieces of apple to the food processor. Blitz until the texture looks like finely grated apple.3 medium apples
- Add the flour, baking powder, milk, egg and cinnamon if using. Blitz until smooth.125 g plain wholemeal flour, 1.5 teaspoon baking powder, 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Drain the dates. If necessary squeeze out any excess water with your fingers. Stir the drained dates into the cake batter. (Don't process them otherwise you'll lose all the texture.)
- Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes. The baked cake should be firm and springy to the touch.
- Once cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
To make sugar free date cake without a food processor
- Prepare the dates, cake tin and oven as above.
- Finely grate the apples into a bowl.
- Stir the flour and baking powder into the apples. Beat the egg, then add to the cake batter along with the milk.
- Add the drained dates and continue with the rest of the recipe.
Notes
- The cake can be made gluten-free with gluten-free flour.
- If you use self-raising flour, reduce the baking powder to half a teaspoonful.
- For a healthy date and walnut cake, add 50g roughly chopped walnuts. Stir into the mixture by hand.
- This recipe makes a smallish-sized loaf cake. It's cooked in a 450g loaf tin, also known as a 1lb loaf tin.
- If you want a large sugar-free date loaf, double the recipe quantities and bake in a 900g (2lb) loaf tin. Cook the larger cake for an additional 20 minutes.
- You can also cook a double-sized cake in a 9-inch round tin.
- I've soaked the dates in this recipe so that they are meltingly soft and delicious. If you'd prefer them a little chewier, or your dates are very soft to start with, you can omit this step.
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Eleanor says
Cakes need fat! I don’t think it’s accurate to call this a cake. I’ve just made it for the first time. I added an extra egg, because I couldn’t believe it would rise at all without it. It barely rose even with the second egg. This is more of a naturally sweetened apple and date loaf. Cake is a stretch! It was tasty enough, but very dense and compact. Next time I make it, I’m going to try two eggs, weigh the eggs, and add that weight in fat as well. I know this will render it a less healthy bake, but I think it will be more able to be described as a cake!
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi Eleanor. Sorry this wasn't to your taste. It's true that a very low-fat cake has a slightly different texture, but the dates and apples keep this very moist, and for people on a low-fat diet, it gives them an option. I hope your amended recipe works out well.
John Sampson says
Being a beginner I can't really rate. Have tried this twice. It comes out as a pudding rather than as a cake. It is good with cream, eaten hot with a spoon. I add a few cranberries pressed in. What size of food processor is required? A bigger one than I have, I think. Oven temp was gas mark 4.
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi John, thanks for your comment. Although your option sounds rather nice, the texture should be firmer than a pudding. Did you make sure that the dates were thoroughly drained? I used a one-litre capacity food processor, but you can also make the recipe without one.
Bita says
Hey!
Im just wondering if this recipe could be made with teff flour?
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, I don't have personal experience of cooking with teff flour, so I'm not completely sure. I've looked online and the general advice seems to be to substitute up to half of the flour in a recipe with teff. You've inspired me to do some more research and give it a go!!
Asha says
Hi, I would like to puree the dates and add to the cake batter. Do I need to make changes to the ingredients for this?
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, if you are making the cake in a food processor, add the dates to the mixture and puree until smooth. Otherwise, puree the well-drained dates separately, and stir them into the mixture. No changes to the ingredients required:)