On a recent shopping excursion with my friend Sandra, I found the cutest little book called Tea at Fortnum and Mason at Wilkins and Kent. Its cover is in signature Fortnum and Mason duck egg blue and gold, and it has some of the loveliest teatime recipes you will ever see. I want to make all of them!
I decided to start off with Date and Nut Loaf (well, actually Date and Walnut Loaf, but I used hazelnuts instead) from p109 of the book. It involves soaking dates in tea, then mixing them into the cake batter with nuts, and lo, you have a delicious cake:
My cake did sink a little in the middle (only the second time in my life that has happened) - it may have been because I added too much baking powder as I guess-timated how to convert my plain flour into self raising flour, and maybe it rose just a tad too fast. No matter - the end result was delicious (this was pre my low carb diet), and no-one at work complained. It has a deep caramel flavour, with depth added by the tea and some crunch from the nuts.
To make this lovely cake, you will need:
125 g butter
100ml freshly brewed tea (I used my friend Camilla's wedding guest gift tea)
50 g dates, pitted and chopped
175g dark brown sugar
2 eggs
75g wholemeal flour
125g self raising flour (I used 100% plain white flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
zest of 1 orange
100g chopped nuts
1 tablespoon Demerara sugar
Preheat your oven to 180⁰C. Grease a 900g loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
Pour the tea into a small bowl and allow the dates to soak in it for 20 minutes or so.
Cream the butter and brown sugar using a stand mixer, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold in the flours, baking powder, orange zest, dates and the tea and 75g of nuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and Demerara sugar. Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through.
Remove the cake form the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy with your favourite cuppa!
This bread looks really delicious and full of goodness. The book sounds wonderful as well...you find the best things. What willpower you have to make all these things and not eat them!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delicious looking sweet loaf! And perfect to have with a cup of tea or coffee too! :D
ReplyDeleteI love Fortnum and Mason (I am working dangerously close to it at the moment!). Your loaf looks lovely
ReplyDeleteBTW, I made your pineapple and coconut cake - the one you adapted from Gesine Bullock Prado's recipe. It was fab. I have linked to you in the post.
Thanks for the shout out CCW - much appreciated.
DeleteGiven the amount of cakes you bake that is amazing you have only had cakes sink on you twice! (I always follow what it says on my tin of baking powder for SR flour)
ReplyDeletelove the sound of this cake - and I just wish I had more time to browse at Kent and Wilkins and more money to buy all the gorgeous things there
What a great cook book to have picked up! Sorry to hear it sank a little but it still looks great, and I'm sure you felt suitably fancy when serving it up :)
ReplyDelete