Ingredients

• 175g/6oz chopped dates
• 50g/2oz pecan nuts
• roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp Amaretto
• 1x250g tub Ricotta
• 200g/7oz polenta (maize flour)
• 200g/7oz self-raising flour
• 1 rounded tsp baking powder
• 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• 110g/4oz butter
• melted
• 200ml/7fl oz tepid water
• 1 level tbsp demerara sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
• Place the dates in a small bowl
• pour the liqueur over them and leave them to soak for 15 minutes.
• Place the pecans on a baking tray and toast them for 8 minutes - use a timer so they don't get over-cooked.
• Make the cake: Take a large mixing bowl and first sift in the two flours
• baking powder and cinnamon. Keep the sieve held high to give the flour a good airing
• then tip the grains from the maize flour in to join the rest.
• Next
• add the caster sugar
• Ricotta
• melted butter and water and whisk with an electric hand whisk until everything is thoroughly blended (about 1 minute). Fold in the nuts
• dates and the liqueur in which they were soaking.
• Fold everything in thoroughly
• spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Scatter the demerara sugar evenly over the surface
• then pop the cake into a preheated oven on the middle shelf
• where it will take between 1¾ and 2 hours to cook.
• When it's cooked it will feel springy in the centre when you make a very light depression with your little finger. If it's not cooked give it another 10 minutes and then do another test.
• Remove the cake from the oven
• allow it to cool in the tin for 15 minutes
• then remove it from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight tin.