These chocolate coated mini cakes with dates, banana and cardamom are so good they can get seriously addictive. I borrowed the concept from the Anthill Cake – a childhood’s delight of most Soviet kids. Getting a bit nostalgic here so please allow me a little digression!
A Brief Background:
Anthill cake is a true staple of Soviet cuisine. All the important celebrations – birthdays, New Year’s and the International Women’s Day – would be marked with this cake. The name ‘anthill’ refers to the cake’s shape and appearance. It is typically molded into a mound, poked with a fork and sprinkled with cacao powder or coated with a chocolate glaze to resemble an actual anthill. During the harsh times of the Soviet era, one of this cake’s appeals was its affordability. Butter, sour cream, sugar, flour, condensed milk and cocoa powder – that’s the set for the basic version. Sometimes we would also add fresh or dried fruit and nuts.
The preparation technique is a little messy yet very simple. Crumbly dough base is baked then crushed into small pieces. You then mix it with gooey condensed milk and softened butter and shape into a mound. Lastly, you coat in with some sort of chocolate glaze and refrigerate to harden.
In this version, I swapped the condensed milk for sweet and sticky dates and banana paste. I also added cardamom, fresh apple and roasted pine nuts to enhance both flavour and texture.
The Flavour Affair:
Medjool Dates + Banana + Cardamom + Apple + Pine Nuts
While the anthill cake is a delicious treat, it is probably one of the heaviest ones, too. Butter, sour cream, sugar, flour and condensed milk are all fats and carbs. I was looking for a way to make the cake at least a little less unhealthy while retaining its overall quality. I also wanted to make a version with some of the Middle Eastern flavours.
Medjool dates are one of hundreds of types of dates. They are meaty and sweet with caramel-like notes and have a soft, chewy, sticky texture. That makes them a perfect substitute for the condensed milk both taste and purpose wise.
Banana is another natural sweetener which allows to further reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. It also gives the dense date paste a much smoother consistency that’s easier to handle.
Green cardamom powder is amazing here. It complements the overall sweet flavour profile while bringing in fresh, floral notes, which gives the cake a bit of a lighter feel. It is also a much loved spice in the Middle East and often features in local desserts.
Diced apple makes another fresh addition along with a slight tartness that cuts through the sweet dough. Its crunchy and juicy texture also creates a nice contrast.
Lastly, I absolutely love the combination of dates and pine nuts. Their unique taste and earthy toasty notes tone down the rich sweetness of the dates, making the two a fantastic duo.
Preparation tips for Mini Cakes with Dates, Banana and Cardamom:
Interestingly, most hassle comes with baking the dough. You need to bring it to a firm, dense consistency without burning it. My mum would roll the dough into thin long sausages, and I remember it taking forever. Some recipes even suggest using a meat grinder to speed things up. While this does help mechanize the process, I no longer own a meat grinder 😀 and so I had to come up with something else. Here is a step-by-step process description:
- Make the dough by mixing together melted butter, sour cream, flour and salt (quantities in the recipe card).
- Dump the ball of dough onto the baking tray and spread it out in a thin even layer using your fingers. Bake it for about 10-15 minutes until the bottom browns, then flip and brown on the other side. If it breaks, no problem. It will get crushed anyway.
- While the dough is cooking, prep the other ingredients. Remove the stones from Medjool dates, add the banana and beat to a paste with a mixer. Do not make the same mistake as me and use a blender. I’ve spent a fair amount of time scraping the sticky paste off the blades.
- Peel an apple and cut into small cubes. Roast the pine nuts. Bring 50g butter to room temperature to soften.
- Now that the dough is ready, the next step is to let it cool and break into smaller pieces. Place those into a ziplock bag and give it a good beating with the flat side of meat tenderizer. Try to make sure you end up with different sized crumbs – from bigger chunks to almost dust.
- And now to the fun part. Place the crumbs into a large bowl, add the paste, diced apple, pine nuts, softened butter and a teaspoon of ground cardamom. Incorporate everything together with your bare hands. Although you can also use a mixer, this is how we used to do it back in the day 😀 You’ll end up with something like this:
At this point of time the dough is ready to be shaped into a mound, covered in glaze and refrigerated. But the mini cakes require a little further effort:
- Form small balls approximately 3cm in diameter and set aside.
- Time to prepare the coating! Melt one large milk chocolate bar in a sauce pan over low heat. Add a splash of milk and stir. Allow for the chocolate to fully dissolve and add more milk if the consistency is too thick.
- Use tongs to carefully dip the mini cake balls into the chocolate sauce and move around to coat.
- Arrange on a plate in a single layer. Use a silicon brush to fill up and gaps in coating.
- Refrigerate for two hours before serving.
The mini cakes with dates, banana and cardamom are now ready to be enjoyed!
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Mini “Anthill” Cakes with Dates, Banana and Cardamom
Ingredients
- 125 g butter divided
- 100 g sour cream
- 200 g flour
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 250 g medjool dates pitted
- 1 banana
- 1/2 apple cut into small cubes
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tbsp roasted pine nuts
- 200g milk chocolate
- a splash of milk
Instructions
For the dough:
- Melt 100g butter in a sauce pot until liquid.
- Combine the melted butter with 200g flour, 100g sour cream and 1/3 tsp salt.
- Spread the dough on a baking tray in an even layer about 7mm thick.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 190C for 10-15 minutes until browned on the bottom.
- Flip and bake for another 10 minutes.
- The dough is ready when its hardened and breaks easily.
- Remove from the oven and let cool, then break into smaller parts.
- Place the dough parts into a zip lock and beat with a meat tenderizer. Crush into different sized pieces from slightly bigger one to almost dust. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
For the cake:
- Take 25g butter out of the fridge and leave at room temperature to soften.
- Blitz medjool dates and the banana to a smooth paste using a hand blender.
- Add the paste, diced apple, 2 tsp ground cardamom and 1 tbsp roasted pine nuts to the bowl with dough crumbs.
- Mix with your hands to incorporate all ingredients into a crumbly mixture.
- Form balls approximately 3cm in diameter.
For the coating:
- Melt 200g milk chocolate in a sauce pan (you can use the one from butter).
- Add splash of milk and stir.
- Once the chocolate fully dissolves, check for consistency and add more milk if too thick.
To finish:
- Use tongs to dip the mini cake balls into the chocolate sauce.
- Arrange on a plate in a single layer and fill any gaps in the coating with a silicon brush.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- This version skips sugar because the sweetness from medjool dates, banana, cardamom and the chocolate coating is plenty.
- You can save yourself some hassle by molding the cake into a mound and pouring the chocolate sauce over. Refrigerate and slice when ready to enjoy.
- The cake can last in the fridge for 3-4 days.
