Date Loaf

One of my favourite cakes is my Mum's date loaf.  She made it often when we were kids, and as a grown up, I pestered her for the recipe, which she recited off the top of her head over the phone.  Amazing!!!

We used to eat this cake smothered in margarine, but now I am a grown up and don't need "sauce" on everything, I like this cake without anything on it.  It is a cinch to make, and turns out moist in the middle with a crusty outside.

To make my Mum's date loaf, you will need:

1 cup coarsely chopped dates

1/2 cup brown sugar
120g butter
1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
3/4 cup self raising flour

3/4 cup plain flour

1 cup boiling water

1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork

 pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Place the chopped dates, sugar, baking soda and butter into a medium sized bowl.  Pour over the boiling water, then allow the mixture to stand until it reaches room temperature.

Add the beaten egg to the bowl, then sift and mix in the flours.

Pour the batter into a greased  8" x 5" inch loaf pan, and bake in the preheated oven for ~ 45 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer poked into the centre of the cake.

Remove the cake from the oven, and allow it to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning it onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Serve warm or cold, alone or slathered with butter.

This date loaf was made for brekky with my comrades in the marketing department during the couple of days that I was privileged to sit among them.