DATE PURÉE

First, set a heavy bottom saucepan filled with the water over medium heat. Add the chopped dates. Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the pumpkin pie spice and rum, and stir.

Allow the mixture to cook for 10 minutes. The dates will begin to absorb all of the water. Then add the baking soda. It will bubble up. Stir and cook until the dates have absorbed all remaining liquid and are broken up easily when stirred. Use a wooden spoon to smash it until it’s like a chunky purée. Set aside to cool while you make the bundt cake batter.

Reserve the saucepan for the date and rum toffee sauce.

DATE & ALMOND BUNDT CAKE

To make the Bundt cake batter, use room temperature ingredients. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Butter a 6 cup Bundt cake pan. Make sure to get butter into all of the crevices and up the middle of the pan as well. For more tips on how to ensure a clean release from a Bundt pan, read on.

Use a hand or stand mixer to cream the butter with the granulated and brown sugars for 10 minutes. It should be pale and fluffy. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing for one minute in between each addition. Add the vanilla extract with the last egg. Scrape the bowl as necessary. Add the date purée.

Then in a separate bowl, whisk up the flours, salt, and baking powder. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed. Add half of the flour mixture. Once it is incorporated, add the buttermilk. Once that is incorporated, finish with the remaining flour mixture. *Then add toasted walnuts, if using. Alternatively, put walnuts along bottom of greased Bundt pan.

Don’t over mix or it will get dense. Use a spatula to pour it into the Bundt pan evenly. Hit the Bundt cake pan gently against the counter to settle the batter. Then bake for about 40-50 minutes, until it is risen, golden, and cooked through. Use a toothpick to check the cake to make sure it comes out clean.

STICKY TOFFEE SAUCE

To make this spicy rum and date toffee sauce, melt the butter in the same saucepan you used for making the date cake infusion. The leftover bits of purée add even more deliciousness to this toffee sauce. Set the pan over medium heat.

Then add remaining ingredients.

Allow the sauce to boil for 10 minutes, stirring frequently as it thickens. The sauce will thicken as it cools, so keep that in mind so you don’t end up cooking it too long. Then remove from the heat and whisk in the rum and vanilla extract.

Then just smother the date and almond Bundt cake with the sauce anyway you like.