Do I Use Dried Or Fresh Dates For The Honey Cake With Dates And Apples?

Our answer

Nigella's Honey Cake With Dates And Apples is sweetened with a combination of honey, sugar and chopped dates. The dates are cooked for a short time with the apples and this puree also helps to keep the cake moist.

We are not sure if fresh dates refers to unripe dates that have been freshly picked. This type of date is hard to find outside of local growing areas and they have a much higher moisture content, so would not be suitable for the cake. Dried dates, such as Delget Nour, would work well in the cake. Medjool dates are considered to be fresh dates and the majority sold in the UK have aged a little and lost some of their moisture (usually they have been refrigerated during storage) , so are sweet but slightly moister than other dried dates. So the Medjool dates sold pre-packaged in supermarkets are also fine for the cake. In some supermarkets and Mediterranean or Middle Eastern grocers you may find loose Medjool dates when they are in season (around September) and these tend to be a bit plumper and fresher than the pre-packaged Medjool dates. We would, on balance, prefer not to use these as they tend to have slightly more moisture and are slightly less sweet than the older pre-packaged Medjool dates.