Date Cake (Djamilah) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almond
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups finely chopped dates (7 oz)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon orange juice or 1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur

Preparation

Butter a round 10-inch cake pan; line with waxed paper. Butter waxed paper; set pan aside. Preheat oven to 400\u00b0F.
In a blender, process almonds with 3/4 cup sugar until finely ground.
In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Stir in almond mixture, cornstarch, dates, butter and orange juice or liqueur.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; fold into date mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in center of oven 30 to 40 minutes or until center springs back when lightly pressed with your fingers. Invert onto a rack; remove from pan. Cool on rack.