Easy, one-bowl mix recipe. No beaters needed! All you need is a medium saucepan and you are set to go.
This is a lovely, sturdy tea loaf that rises surprisingly well. The fat quantity is reduced so the crumb is more dense but soft enough to fall into the cake category For my vegan bakes I use Flora 60% Vegan Margarine. It works beautifully and is readily accessible at most supermarkets.
The cake mixture is rather stiff and looks like gunge. Don’t let this deter you as within an hour’s bake, you will have a delicious tea loaf.
Ingredients for Loaf
- 160 g pitted dates
- 1 c caster sugar
- 1 c water
- 60 g vegan butter/margarine
- 1 c cake/spelt flour
- 1 c self-raising flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
- 60 g chopped walnuts/pecans
Method to make Loaf
- Finely chop dates and add to a medium saucepan.
- Add caster sugar, water and vegan margarine to the saucepan.
- Stir over a low heat till the sugar dissolves.
- Then turn heat to medium and let mixture come to a simmer.
- Keep stirring mixture over a medium heat for about ten minutes.
- Take off heat and let mixture cool for about 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Grease and line the base of a smaller loaf pan. (12cm x 22cm)
- Add self-raising flour, cake/spelt flour and bicarbonate of soda to cooled date mixture and stir to combine.
- Add chopped nuts to mixture and stir to evenly combine.
- Mixture will look like gunge and is quite thick.
- Turn mixture into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes till cake is well risen, deeply golden and coming away from the sides of pan.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to completely cool.