Coffee-Nut Date Loaf

I was craving a date or two during the lockdown. And let’s be honest who doesn’t enjoy a good date now and then? Armed with my date-craving and the lockdown baking bug, as well as the best coffee in town, I embarked in creating a Coffee-Nut Date Loaf with Frangelico-coffee drizzle (with loads of edible glitter, naturally). Need a sweet date in your life? Well, you have landed on the right page.

INGREDIENTS

Loaf Ingredients

  • 2 ½ Cups Dates, Chopped
  • 1 ½ Cups Hot Coffee (Wild Cactus Café recommended)
  • 1 ½ Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 1 ¾ Cake Flour
  • 1 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/8 Nutmeg
  • ¼ Tsp Salt
  • ½ Cup Butter
  • ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
  • ½ Cup Sugar
  • 3 Free-Range Egg (or 1 or 2 Jumbo Free-Range Eggs)
  • 1 TBSP Vanilla Essence
  • 1 Cup Toasted Walnuts, Salted and Chopped

The Drizzle Ingredients (Optional)

  • 1 TBSP Hot Water
  • A Dash of Frangelico (Optional)
  • ½ Cup of Coffee
  • 2 Cups of Icing Sugar
  • 3 TBSPS. Butter, Melted
  • ½ Cup Toasted Walnuts, Salted and Chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

#1 Take two cups of freshly brewed coffee and add it to the chopped dates and bicarbonate of soda. Mix and set aside.

#2 Sift the flour, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

#3 With a mixer (or strong guns) cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in the eggs and vanilla essence.

#4 Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Now strain the dates from the “bathing” liquid (don’t throw the liquid or dates away); set aside the dates.

#5 Take turns to add the flour-mix and date-liquid to the sugar-butter mix; split it into three rounds. Mix, between each round. Once everything is added beat until smooth.

#6 Once the mix is smooth, add the dates previously set aside and the walnuts. Fold in gently.

#7 Prepare a 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5-inch) by smearing it with butter and adding baking paper (it helps it stick neatly to the pan). Also, smear some butter on the baking paper just so that when you tip the loaf you have all the success.

#8 Pour the batter into the pan and place it into the heated oven (180 degrees Celsius) for 55-minutes to an hour (or until a sosatie stick comes out clean). Then remove the loaf and let it cool on a wire (rack) don’t tip until cooled.

#9 Once cooled, carefully tip and peel off the baking paper.

#10 For the drizzle, add all the ingredients and mix up. Pour over the drizzle; add the nuts and pour more drizzle over it. For extra sparkle, add edible glitter (note edible and not just non-toxic glitter) and voila.

Enjoy!

Download the Recipe

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