This classic Middle Eastern Dessert has a consistency that is more like a pecan pie filling than a heavy English fruit pudding. It is very rich and sweet.
The natural sweetness of the dates combined with even more sugar and the base of butter and eggs make this rich dessert a classic Middle Eastern dessert. It is very sweet and is best served in small amounts, alongside cups of thick Turkish Coffee to cut through some of the cloying sweetness.
After a day of winter sports or outside work, warming up with Turkish Coffee and bits of sweet treats, such as this date and nut treat drives off the chill and tames the strongest appetite. This really is a classic kind of winter treat.
The consistency of this pudding is more similar to that of a pecan pie than it is to a an English dried fruit pudding. The nuts serve to stabilize the gooey mixture of butter, sugar, eggs and dates a bit, but it is definitely not cake-like in texture.
Children absolutely love it – and parents can at least take comfort in the fact that its two main ingredients are, at least, dried dates and nuts!
Try serving this alongside Apricot Treats and Lokom on a Mezze dessert table. If you like dates, you will love this dessert.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dates, processed to a chopped, coarse consistency, with either a food processor or by hand
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon of flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
Method:
- Mix all the ingredients together
- Pour into a greased baking dish
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes
- Cool slightly
- Cut into squares and serve warm, with kaimak or whipped cream
For a "New World" variation:
Use the date mixture as the filling for small tartlets, with pie crust shells or even as the filling for a pie – similar to the richness and consistency of pecan pie filling. Top with whipped cream to serve.
