Baking a Date and Nut Loaf

There is nothing worse than searching for a date or a nut in a date and nut loaf. If a thing promises in name, then it should deliver in taste. The recipe I share with you today does exactly that and is so easy to make that you can have a freshly baked loaf in the oven and ready for guests in no time at all. Let me show you how.

Chop up 2 cups (500 ml) of pitted dates and add them to a mixing bowl.

Add 125 g butter (or margarine) to the dates.

Add 1 cup (250 ml) of boiled water to the bowl.

Add 1 teaspoonful (5 ml) of bicarbonate of soda.

Mix everything well (or get a helper to do the mixing for you!)

Add 3/4 cup (approximately 190 ml) of sugar.

Add 1/2 teaspoon (2,5 ml) of salt.

Add a teaspoonful (5 ml) of vanilla essence.

Beat one egg and add it to the mix. Mix well before sifting and adding the dry ingredients. Add a teaspoonful (5 ml) of baking powder.

Add 2 cups (500 ml) of flour.

Some people consider adding nuts as optional. I disagree. You choose whether you agree with me or not. If you do agree with me, then add a cup of chopped Brazilian Nuts to the mixture. Mix everything together.

Spray a bread pan with non-stick coating and fill about two-thirds with the dough. You can also do what I did, which is to fill a couple of mini loaf pans with the dough. Alternatively you can also use muffin pans.

Bake at 180°C for about an hour in a single pan. The mini loaf pans were ready in about half that time, so keep your eye on the oven.

Allow to stand for a minute or two and then remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack. This is the time when everyone in my house usually arrive without having to be called. We all sit around the kitchen table and eat the still warm loaves straight from the cooling rack.

I like to split my loaf in two and lather the warm loaf with butter that literally melts into the loaf. Not healthy, but unbeatable for taste.

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Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
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