Chocolate Chip-Date Cake

This is one of those old-school recipes that gets passed around on index cards and never goes out of style.

Chopped dates get soaked in boiling water with baking soda until they turn soft and jammy, then they’re stirred into a simple creamed batter.

Before the pan goes in the oven, chocolate chips, sugar, and chopped nuts get scattered across the top, where they bake into a crackly, sweet crust that contrasts with the soft, sticky cake underneath.

No frosting needed. The topping does all the work.

Pro Tips

• Let the date mixture cool completely before adding it to the batter. Hot liquid scrambles the eggs and melts the shortening unevenly.
• Scatter the topping evenly. Clumps of sugar and chips in one corner mean bare spots in another, and the whole point is that crunchy layer covering every square inch.
• Don’t overbake. The dates keep the cake moist, but pushing past 35 minutes dries out the edges.
• This cake is even better the next day once the date moisture fully absorbs into the crumb. Cover it and let it sit overnight.