Date and raisin loaf
bake | winter
To make a vegan version, use 100ml of sunflower oil in place of the eggs, adding it with the tea, dates and raisins.
Prep < 30 mins
Cooking time 1 hour
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
black tea 125ml
prunes or dates 100g, stoned weight
light muscovado sugar 100g
date syrup 150g
black treacle 2 tbsp
plain flour 250g
baking powder 1 tsp
salt a pinch
rolled oats 50g
eggs 2 (or 100ml sunflower oil)
sultanas or raisins 150g
Method
- You will need a deep rectangular cake tin measuring 20cm x 9cm and lined with baking paper.
- Put on the kettle and make the tea. Roughly chop the prunes or dates, then let them soak in the hot tea.
- Heat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Weigh the muscovado sugar then, with the sugar still on the scale pan, pour the date syrup and treacle on to it. Warm the date syrup, light muscovado sugar and black treacle in a small saucepan, without stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and oats. Break the eggs into a small bowl, beat lightly with a fork.
- Stir the warm date syrup mixture into the flour together with the tea, dates and the raisins and the beaten eggs.
- Spoon the mixture into the lined cake tin. It will be quite soft, similar in texture to a gingerbread batter. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour, until risen and lightly springy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. While the cake cools, brush the surface with a little more date syrup.