Tamarind Date Cake With Buttercream And Tamarind Caramel

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups finely chopped dates
2 ½ tablespoons Tamarind OH
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 ½ cups shelled walnuts, roughly chopped

Method:

Line the base and sides of two 6" cake pans with nonstick baking paper, and heat the oven to 350F. Put the dates, tamarind OH and 1 ¼ cups water in a pan and bring to a boil. Boil for a minute, remove from the heat, add the butter, and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Add the brown sugar, stir, then beat in the eggs until smooth. Beat in the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then stir in the walnuts. 

Spoon the cake mix equally into the cake pans and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the cake comes out clean. Remove and leave to cool.<br>

Notes:

I used a buttercream frosting and caramel recipe with the addition of 2 tbsp Tamarind OH after it cooled.
It is essential to use sweetened tamarind paste such as the one by Essiespice which has a mix of tamarind, ginger, and guava.