Super Moist Dried Fruit and Walnut Cake (No Added Sugar, No Wheat Flour)

The first slice is the moment this cake is made for. The cool, tangy yogurt on top gives way to a soft, moist crumb, then you hit a tender piece of apricot, and a little crunch of walnut follows. It tastes rich and fruity, and there isn't a spoonful of sugar or wheat flour in it.

This Super Moist Dried Fruit and Walnut Cake gets all of its sweetness from dried fruit. Softened dates are blended into a paste that sweetens the batter and keeps it moist for days. Unsweetened dried apricots give you visible pockets of fruit, and walnuts add crunch. Oat flour and a handful of rolled oats take the place of wheat flour, and a little Greek yogurt and oil keep the crumb tender. It bakes in one 8½ × 4½-inch loaf pan and cuts into 10 slices.

Why You'll Enjoy This Recipe

• No added sugar. No honey, maple syrup or sugar of any kind. The dates and apricots do the sweetening.
• Really moist. The date paste and yogurt keep the crumb soft, even on day three.
• No wheat flour. Oat flour and rolled oats give a tender, slightly nutty crumb.
• Fruit and crunch in every slice. Chopped apricots and walnuts are folded through the whole loaf.
• A cool, fresh topping. Thick Greek yogurt with orange zest instead of frosting.

Ingredients and Notes

Exact amounts are in the ingredient list above. A few notes on choosing them:

Dates. 7 ounces (200 g) pitted, weighed before soaking. Medjool dates are the softest and blend most easily, but any soft dates work. Buy whole pitted dates, not pre-chopped ones, which are often coated in dextrose or sugar to keep them from sticking.

Dried apricots. ¾ cup (100 g), chopped into ½-inch pieces. Check the label: you want apricots with no added sugar or syrup. Kitchen scissors are the easiest way to cut them; dip the blades in water if they stick.

Walnuts. 1 cup (115 g), roughly chopped. Keep the pieces fairly large for real crunch. Set aside 2 tablespoons for the top before the rest goes into the batter.

Oat flour. 1¾ cups (160 g). Store-bought oat flour gives the most consistent results. You can grind old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender until fine, but weigh it, since homemade oat flour is fluffier and a cup holds less. Spoon it into the cup and level it off rather than scooping.

Rolled oats. ½ cup (45 g) old-fashioned rolled oats, not instant or steel-cut. They give the crumb a little texture and stay visible in every slice.

Greek yogurt. ½ cup (120 g) in the batter and ½ cup (120 g) on top, both plain and unsweetened. Thick, whole-milk Greek yogurt makes the best topping because it spreads in a smooth layer and doesn't run. Flavored or "vanilla" yogurt has added sugar, so skip it.

Eggs. 2 large, at room temperature, so they whisk smoothly into the date paste.

Neutral oil. 3 tablespoons. Canola, avocado or light olive oil.

Baking powder, cinnamon and salt. 2 teaspoons baking powder lifts the heavy, fruity batter. 1½ teaspoons cinnamon and ½ teaspoon salt round out the sweetness of the dates.

Orange. The zest of 1 orange. Finely grate about 1 teaspoon to stir into the yogurt, then use a citrus zester to cut thin strips for the top. If you only have a fine grater, grated zest on top works too. Zest it just before serving so it stays fragrant.

Equipment

• An 8½ × 4½-inch loaf pan and parchment paper.
• A blender or food processor for the date paste.
• A large bowl, a medium bowl and a small bowl.
• A whisk and a rubber spatula.
• A kitchen scale. Strongly recommended for the dates, oat flour, apricots and walnuts.
• A long wooden skewer for testing doneness.
• A wire rack and a serrated knife.
• A fine grater and a citrus zester (optional) for the orange.

How to Make the Date Paste (Without a Gummy Batter)

The date paste is what sweetens this cake, and the amount of water in it is what decides the texture.

1. Weigh the dates before soaking. Soaked dates gain water and weight, so 200 g means 200 g of pitted, dry dates.
2. Soak them in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes, until they squash easily.
3. Drain them, and measure the water. Exactly ⅓ cup (80 ml) of the soaking water goes into the blender. Discard the rest.
4. Blend until thick and mostly smooth. It should look like a thick, glossy paste, about the consistency of peanut butter. A few small bits of date are fine; they show up as soft, dark flecks in the baked crumb.

Why so strict about the water? Oat flour has no gluten to hold extra liquid in place. Too much water in the paste gives you a batter that's loose, a center that bakes up dense and gummy, and a loaf that sinks. If your blender struggles, help it along with a spoonful of the measured yogurt instead of adding more water.

How Thick Should the Batter Be?

Very thick, much thicker than a banana bread batter. When you lift the spatula, the batter should fall off in heavy clumps and hold soft mounds in the bowl. It won't pour, and you'll need to spread it into the pan with the spatula.

If it looks loose and pourable right after mixing, give it 10 minutes. Oat flour keeps absorbing liquid as it sits, and the batter firms up.

How to Tell When It's Done

This is a dense, fruity loaf, so it needs a full 55 to 65 minutes at 350°F. Dates brown quickly, so look at it after 35 minutes and lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top if it's getting dark.

• The top looks dry and firm and springs back when you press it gently.
• The skewer test: push a long skewer into the crumb near the center, between pieces of fruit. It should come out with a few moist crumbs and no raw, wet batter.
• Watch out for the fruit. If the skewer goes through a piece of apricot or a bit of date, it comes out sticky and looks wet even when the cake is fully baked. Test a second spot before you add more time.
• An instant-read thermometer in the center should read about 205°F, if you have one.

Cooling and Topping

Cool it in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out by the parchment. Leave it any longer and steam softens the sides and bottom.

Then cool it completely on a rack, at least 2 hours. An oat flour crumb is fragile and sticky while warm and sets as it cools. Slice it early and it will crumble and taste gummy.

Add the yogurt only when the loaf is completely cool. On a warm cake, yogurt thins out, runs down the sides and soaks into the crust. Yogurt also shouldn't sit around warm. On a cool loaf, it stays in a neat, thin, cool layer, and that contrast with the fruity cake is the whole point.

Recipe Notes

• Times at a glance: 30 minutes of hands-on time (including the date soak and the topping), 55 to 65 minutes in the oven, 15 minutes in the pan and at least 2 hours on the rack. The 3 hours 50 minutes on the recipe card uses the longest baking time.
• Yield: one 8½ × 4½-inch loaf, 10 slices about ¾ inch thick.
• About "no added sugar": nothing sweet is added beyond dried fruit and unsweetened yogurt. Dates and apricots contain natural sugars, so this cake is not sugar-free.
• About "no wheat flour": the cake is made with oat flour and rolled oats instead of wheat flour. It is gluten-free only if you use oat flour and rolled oats labeled certified gluten-free and check that your baking powder and other ingredients are gluten-free too.
• Pan size matters. In a larger 9 × 5-inch pan the loaf is shorter and bakes faster; start checking at 45 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

Serve a slice as an afternoon treat with coffee or tea, or for breakfast or brunch. It's lovely with a few orange segments on the side. For more cakes made without white sugar, try the Carrot Raisin Oatmeal Yogurt Cake or the Tahini Date Cake.

Storage

Topped loaf. Because of the yogurt, the topped cake belongs in the refrigerator. Cover it loosely, or keep the slices in an airtight container, and eat it within 3 days. Don't leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours. The zest is freshest on the first day; add a little more before serving if you like.

Untopped loaf. Wrapped well, it keeps for 1 day at room temperature or up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Add the topping just before serving.

Make ahead and freeze. Freeze the loaf untopped, whole or in slices. Once it's completely cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then foil, or put it in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for 2 to 3 hours for a whole loaf (about 30 minutes for a single slice). Add the yogurt, zest and walnuts after it's thawed. Don't freeze the topped cake; yogurt turns watery and grainy when it thaws.