Absolutely. But the secret to making the best date and walnut cake is using good quality fresh dates that add lots of moisture and mild sweetness to the cake which matures the more the cake rests. You would feel the cake is mildly sweetened when you taste it warm but the flavor matures the more the cake rests. The next day the cake feels perfectly sweetened so you really do not need to add any sweeteners like brown sugar or caster sugar to the cake mixture and neither does the cake need any frosting to add sweetness.