Date and Walnut Loaf

A classic recipe passed down to a member of the HM team, this is a keeper. Make it once and you’ll certainly make it again.

Perfect with a cup of tea; enjoyable on a rainy day, spectacular on a sunny one sat in the garden perhaps. The old ones are the best ones and this is one recipe that won’t date (pun intended naturally).

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1/2 pint of boiling water
• 250g chopped dates
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 225g caster sugar
• 75g butter
• 1 egg
• 275g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 50g chopped walnuts

For the Glaze

• 60g brown sugar
• 25g butter
• 2 tbsp milk

Method

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 170°C.
2. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the boiling water and add the chopped dates, leave to stand for 5 minutes.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until soft. Then add the egg and water/date mix.
4. Sieve in the flour with the baking powder and salt. Then fold this together with the walnuts.
5. Pour into a lined loaf tin and bake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. (If the cake is browning too quickly on top, cover with tinfoil)
6. For the glaze, add all the ingredients to a saucepan and boil gently for 3 minutes.
7. Allow the glaze to cool and with a skewer, poke a few holes into the top of the cake while it’s still in the tin. Then, leaving the cake in the tin, pour the glaze on top.
8. Enjoy!

Images by HM

Crockery – Burleigh

Pinch pot – John Julian

Linens – Gayle Warrick