Ma'amoul Coffee Cake
This ma'amoul coffee cake is what dreams are made of. It is so moist, with hints of spice, dates, and a crunchy walnut topping. It is reminiscent of a traditonal date or walnut ma'amoul cookie but in cake form.
Serves 9 large pieces
Ingredients
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, melted (1 stick) Light olive oil (must be light) would work as well.
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 3/4 cup Sour Cream plain yogurt is a good substitute but recipe was tested with sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Cookie Spice (ma'amoul/ka'ek spice)* see notes
- 1/2 tsp Ground Anise, optional add for a more pronounced flavor. ma'amoul spice should already have anise in it too.
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 10 Natural Delights Medjool dates, chopped
Filling/Topping
- 1 cup Walnuts, finely chopped may need more
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Cookie spice (ma'amoul/ka'ek spice)* see notes
- 3 tbsp Brown sugar
- Powdered Sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and sugar with a whisk or rubber spatula or using the paddle attachment for your Kitchenaid.
- Then, add 1 egg at a time, mixing together. Add in the vanilla as well and give it a stir.
- At this point, add the sour cream and stir everything together.
- Slowly pour the baking powder, all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, ground anise (if using), and ma'amoul spice into the wet mixture. Mix together until creamy and smooth. Avoid overmixing so the batter remains fluffy and light.
- Gently fold in the chopped dates then set the batter to the side.
- For the filling/topping, mix all the ingredients in that category together really well other than the powdered sugar.
- In a greased 8 or 9 inch round or square baking pan, add half of the cake batter. Then add half of the filling mixture (try to have more of the cinnamon sugar in this layer -reserve more of the nuts to go on top) then add the rest of the batter making sure to spread it well. The batter is a bit sticky so spread it gently. It is easier to add the batter in scattered dollops first then spread. Top it off with the remaining nut mixture covering the surface of the cake. Pat the topping slightly into the batter to help it stick more after baking. *The layers of cake batter will appear thin and not seem like much when being spread in the pan but I promise you it will yield a great end result.
- Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 45 minutes if using a 9-inch pan and closer to 50-55 minutes for an 8 inch pan. You can check if the cake is fully baked by giving it a little jiggle and/or inserting a toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out dry, the cake is baked through. *To avoid over- browning, bake the cake at the bottom rack for 35 minutes and the remaining time on the top rack till baked through.
- Keep in mind that the size pan you use will make a difference with baking time as mentioned above. If a muffin pan is used, bake time may be cut by half. Just keep an eye on the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes before topping with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and slicing through and enjoying! This cake tastes better once its room temperature as the flavors and textures become more pronounced with time. I enjoy it best a few hours after baking it. It keeps well room temperature for 2 days in an airtight container. After that, keep it in the fridge sealed then warm whenever you want to enjoy a piece.
- This cake is absolutely divine with a cup of warm coffee!
Notes
You can find ma'amoul or ka'ek spice or what they call cookie spice in Middle Eastern grocery stores.
If you don't have access to ma'amoul spice or cannot find it, sub with ground anise and a tad more cinnamon. It will not taste exactly the same but will still be delicious.
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