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1
Make the cake: Heat oven to 325u00b0F and butter an 8-inch square, 9-inch round cake pan, or bundt pan.
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2
In a small pot, combine dates, lemon juice, and 3/4 cup water. Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer gently until dates soften and start to fall apart, about 6 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and apple sauce. Set aside to cool.
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3
While date mixture cools, stir together whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and salt.
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4
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and coconut sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in cooled date mixture, followed by flour mixture.
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5
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly and smoothing the surface. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
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6
Meanwhile, make the sticky toffee: In a small pot, combine brown rice syrup and honey, coconut sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking to dissolve sugar. Once sugar dissolves and bubbles, remove from heat and swirl in butter.
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7
When the cake comes out of the oven, spoon half the sticky toffee over it and let cool in the pan on a wire rack. (It will soak into the cake.)
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8
When the cake has cooled enough to handle, flip it out of the pan onto a serving dish or parchment paper. (Remember it's got sticky toffee on the bottom, so there's no moving it off that dish once you flip it.)
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9
Do this step shortly before serving: Pour the remaining sticky toffee over the cake and spread across the top (you may need to re-warm the toffee to loosen it up). Sprinkle with fleur de sel and serve. Store, loosely wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days.
