Date Nut Bread
A dark, sticky, old-fashioned loaf — sweet from dates alone, with toasted walnuts.
Makes 1 loaf (9x5 pan) · Prep 25 min · Bake 55 min
Ingredients
Dates
- 1 1/2 cups Dried dates, pitted and chopped
- 1 cup Boiling water
- 1 tsp Baking soda
Batter
- 1/4 cup Butter, softened
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar, packed
- 1 Egg
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups All-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped
Instructions
Dates
- Put the chopped dates in a bowl with the baking soda, pour the boiling water over, and leave to stand until softened and cooled to warm. (Tip: Don't drain this. The soaking liquid is the batter's liquid, and it's carrying most of the dates' sugar.)
Prep
- Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry pan or a 175°C oven until fragrant, then chop. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line a 9x5 pan.
Batter
- Cream the butter and brown sugar, then beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Stir in the entire date mixture, soaking water and all — it will look thin and unpromising at this stage.
- Fold in the flour and salt just until combined, then the toasted walnuts.
Bake
- Bake until dark and a skewer comes out clean.
Cool
- Cool in the pan 20 minutes, then turn out. This one is better the next day.
Tips
- Hard, dry dates: Older supermarket dates that have gone leathery still work — give them 30 minutes in the boiling water instead of 20 and mash them against the side of the bowl with a fork before mixing.
- Why it's better tomorrow: Date loaves are dense and stay quite wet in the centre on day one. Overnight, the moisture redistributes from the wet middle out toward the crust and the whole loaf slices cleanly.