Walnut & Date Loaf

I love a slice of this traditional walnut cake in the afternoon with a hot cup of tea, it’s the perfect pick me up before shcool run! It’s a traditional recipe and I love the combination of the crunchy walnuts and sweet pieces of dates in the loaf. There’s not too much icing on the top but you can layer it thicker if you like. I like a thin layer as I feel it adds just enough sweetness to the cake.

You can also vary the toppings on the top of the cake, I’ve added some crunchy chopped walnuts but you could also add date pieces or leave it just as plain simple icing.

I like to use organic flour and other organic ingredients where I can but if you don’t have you can use whatever you have available.

225g of self raising flour

100g of unsalted butter

100g of caster sugar

75g of chopped dates

25g of chopped walnuts

1 medium egg

75ml of whole milk

Topping

100g icing sugar

drop or two of vanilla essence

50g of chopped walnuts for the top

Grease a 450g (1lb) loaf tin or I like to line a silicone loaf tin with a shaped greaseproof liner. They are great and ensure the loaf pops out really easily after baking.

Set the oven to 180oc (160 for a fan).

Sift the flour into your mixing bowl and add the butter. Rub together in your fingers or mix in your mixer until it resembles bread crumbs.

Add the sugar, dates and walnuts.

Mix again and add the egg and the milk until it looks like a batter. Add a little extra milk if needed until you get a batter consistency.

Stir lightly and pour the mixture into your prepared loaf tin.

Bake in the oven for 1hr or until a cocktail stick or similiar comes out clean from the middle of the cake.

Leave to cool.

Mix the icing sugar with a little water and a dash of vanilla. Spread over the top of the cake and sprinkle with the chopped nuts before it dries.

Serve a slice with a hot cup of tea or enjoy in my brunch recipe which is linked in the brunch image below.