1900 to 1916 Cake #3

Date Loaf Cake

Growers and grocers shared recipes that used dates in hopes that the customers would buy more and expand the popularity of the product. The Date Loaf Cake was one of America's earliest back-of-the-box cake recipes. The date was a sweet and exotic fruit native to the Arabian peninsula. The US Department of Agriculture employed people called "Agriculture Explorers" whose job it was to find crops that US farmers could grow from around the world. These "Explorers" found that the Coachella Valley, in California, was arid and hot just like Iraq and Algeria where date palms thrived. The explorers and horticulturalists worked together to plant date palms in 1900 and helped to create the domestic date industry.

Fun fact: The farm towns embraced some of the culture of the Middle East, where their dates had come from, and created an Arabian theme park like feel for visitors to experience. They had tours and camel rides for the public and for many Americans it was their first taste of the Middle East.

This recipe was a adapted from the "Yankee Cookbook" in 1895. It was believed to have originated from a local grocer.

My Experience:

This cakes history is more interesting than the cake itself. All of the ingredients are mixed together and thrown in a loaf pan. It baked well and the texture was fine. I am not a date fan and most of the people around me are not really date fans either. This one for me is a "no-make" meaning I see no point in ever making it again. Now if someone really liked dates then I bet they would love a slice with their coffee, otherwise Meh.