Dry Fruit Sponge Cake

Ingredients

• 15 Medjool dates
• 1 organic lemon (zest)
• 50 g Raisins
• 50 g dried figs
• 50 g dried apricots
• 30 g dried cherries
• 200 g room‑temperature butter
• 1 tsp butter
• 4 eggs
• 200 g unsweetened applesauce
• 500 g wheat flour type 1050
• 1 packet baking powder
• Salt
• 250 ml milk (3.5% fat)
• powdered sugar (from raw cane sugar)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cover dates with water and soak for 12 hours, preferably overnight.

2. 2.

   On the next day, drain the soaking liquid and finely puree the dates. Rinse the lemon hot, dry it, grate the zest and squeeze out the juice. Cut raisins and dried fruits into small cubes and soak them in lukewarm water together with the lemon juice.

3. 3.

   Whisk butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, whisking continuously. Mix date puree with applesauce and fold into the butter mixture. Combine flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt, then gradually stir in milk to form a smooth batter. Squeeze out excess liquid from the soaked fruits and fold them along with lemon zest into the batter.

4. 4.

   Grease a loaf pan with butter and pour in the batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (fan‑forced 160 °C; gas: level 2–3) for 50–60 minutes until golden brown (test with a skewer). Remove the finished cake from the oven, let it cool, turn it out of the pan and allow it to set completely on a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.