Date and Walnut Loaf

Dates: I normally use ordinary supermarket whole pitted dates, roughly chopped before soaking. They tend to stay softer and more moist than ready-chopped dates. Ready-chopped dates are convenient, but they’re often tossed in a little rice flour to stop them sticking together, which can make the finished mixture and cake slightly drier. Medjool dates are also a lovely upgrade if you want something a little more indulgent.

Walnuts: Roughly chopped walnuts give the loaf cake plenty of nutty flavour and texture, without overpowering the dates. The slightly unusual-looking 85g quantity comes from the older-style 3 oz measurement this recipe was based on. Check your walnuts before using them too – walnuts can turn rancid surprisingly quickly, and that flavour will come through in the finished cake. And one more tip: store your walnuts in the fridge once opened!

Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda): This is added to the dates before the boiling water. Its main job here is to help soften and break down the dates during soaking; most of the rise in the finished loaf comes from the self-raising flour. You’ll also see me adding bicarbonate of soda to the dates in my Sticky Toffee Pudding for the same reason.

Block Margarine or Butter: I usually use block margarine because it gives consistent results, but unsalted butter works just as well if that’s your preference. Unlike most of my cake recipes, I’d recommend using a block margarine rather than a soft spread, purely because we are melting the margarine, rather than creaming it. To learn more about the differences in types of margarine, take a look at my Margarine Ingredients Guide.

Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar): Caster sugar gives the loaf enough sweetness to balance the dates and walnuts without overwhelming them. It also dissolves easily into the hot date mixture. If you’re baking outside the UK, my Caster Sugar Ingredient Guide explains substitutions and equivalents.

Self-raising Flour: This provides the main lift in the cake, without the need to add any other additional raising agents to the batter (other than the bicarb in the dates mixture). If you’re baking outside the UK or don’t have self-raising flour, my Self-raising Flour Ingredient Guide explains how to make your own self-raising flour at home.

Free-range Egg: There’s only one egg in this loaf cake, which helps bind everything together while also adding a little moisture and richness. I tend to use mixed-weight free-range eggs, which are around a UK medium egg, and roughly the equivalent to a US large egg.

See the recipe card for a full ingredients list, required quantities and cup conversions.