I realized that my last few postings on Facebook were mainly about food. I can’t help it, I need something to occupy me during the day while I await the arrival of the bubba.
I’ve been keeping busy trying to re-organize my load of recipe magazines. Scanning, tagging, filing. However, the more I look through them, the more I find myself wanting to experiment.
I found this recipe this morning and thought I’d give it a go, since I have all the ingredients on hand.
- 250g pitted dates, roughly chopped
- 1 cup (250ml) boiling water
- 90g butter, melted
- 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) self raising flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts, plus 2 tbsp extra for topping
- Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius (or 160 fan). Grease and line a 21cm x 11cm loaf pan
- Soak dates in water, cover and stand for 5 mins, until dates soften.
- Cream melted butter and sugar until well combined. Stir in vanilla and egg.
- Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice with a pinch of salt. Fold into date mixture, then fold through walnut. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and scatter over extra walnut. Bake for 45 mins, until skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 5 mins, then turn out onto wire rack to cool. Slice and serve with butter, if desired.
After the taste test by my husband, this recipe is definitely a keeper!
Kitchenery 