Christmas Date Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 cups pitted dates, choopped
3 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
12 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup white sugar
1 cup nuts, chopped

Preparation

Pour boiling water over the dates, add the soda (it foams up a bit) and set them aside to cool.
While they're cooling, mix together in a large mixing bowl the butter, 2 cups sugar, the eggs, salt and flour.
One this is thoroughly mixed, add the cooled date mixture to the bowl and stir thoroughly.
Butter and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan (the cake rises about 1 1/2 inches, so make sure the sides are tall enough). Pour the batter in the pan.
Sprinkle the following on top, in this order, before baking: the chocolate chips, 1 cup sugar, nuts.
Bake at 325 degrees for 80 minutes. A cake tester or long toothpick should come out clean one inch from the center when the cake is done.
Let the cake cool in a pan on a wire rack. It can be served slightly warm, at room temperature, or chilled.