Iraqi Date and Nut Cake Gilacgi

Submitted by Olha7397

"Bottom and top crust is made from either semolina, farina or cream of wheat cereal and filled in the middle with dates, walnuts, honey, lemon, cinnamon and chopped dates."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups chopped dates
• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3⁄4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs

• FOR TOP AND BOTTOM CRUST

• 1 1⁄4 1 1/4 cups farina or 1 1/4 cups regular cream of wheat
• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 cup butter, plus
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

directions

1. Combine dates and water in a small saucepan. Bring water to a boil; simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in honey, lemon juice, cinnamon and nuts. Remove from heat.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F Butter a round 8 1/2 inch cake pan; sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
3. In a large bowl, combine semolina, farina or Cream of Wheat; flour; baking powder and sugar. Sprinkle vanilla over mixture. Stir in butter. Spoon half of the mixture into buttered cake pan; press over bottom and up side of pan. Spoon date mixture evenly over top. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture over date mixture.
4. Bake in center of oven 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool, then slice. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
5. Best of International Cooking.

Reviews

[fmcdanielii]

I agree with the prior reviewer that this recipe makes a somewhat "gritty" textured crust. However, I LOVED it. This recipe came out wonderfully for me and was not particularly difficult. The crust dough - after blending the butter - looked like a pile of heavy sand. I never thought it would stick to the side of the pan, but it did. It tasted *wonderful*. I'm a pushover for middle eastern desserts. If you are too, you'll probably like this!

 

[mianbao]

This tastes very good, and was especially easy to make. My only problem is that it seems to be rather "gritty", in addition to being crisp. I was kind of hoping it would soften a bit over night, but this was not the case. Never having eaten Iraqi cuisine, I can't judge whether the texture would be a problem in its home country or not. Still, very flavorful, and interesting to make. Thank you for the experience.