Recycling Sundays: Moist date loaf

Type in baking into Google and you get over forty-one million results in 0.21 seconds. I’m stating the obvious here but it means that in not even one second but in less than HALF a second, Google can find more than forty-one million results on its database containing the word baking. About 41,300,000 results (0.21 seconds). So we on WordPress are just a tiny island in this huge database but we contribute quite a bit to the baking community. What’s my point? My point is that all these recipes we publish add a little bit more to what’s already on Google’s baking database.

This is not a bad thing because it means that everyone has a lot of choice when trying to pick something to eat. I mean sometimes I think of a crazy recipe and then type in into Google to get some information and there are already thousands of recipes with that exact same idea which have evolved from just a crazy idea to a tangible creation. But the sad thing is that they are buried somewhere in this great big world and very wide web. So the more we add to it in the form of tags and categories and titles, the more lost these recipes become and the more clustered and populated this baking island becomes. And most of the time we try our recipe once and since it works for us, we put the recipe on our blogs leaving it to fade away into the darkness. So won’t you like to see someone else dig it up, dust away and try your recipes that YOU know tasted so damn good one upon a time? I know would.

There’s so much information and gazillion recipes that can be reused which gave me the idea of Recycling Sundays. The idea is that at least once a month on a Sunday, I find a recipe from somewhere on WordPress or within my social network (including Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, follow me @foodlattio) that I really like then I recycle the valuable information and knowledge to create something new that links directly to the original source. It’s just like clicking that ‘Reblog’ button but a bit more hands on. Today, it’s the lovely Home Galley’s date loaf.

First of all I’m entirely grateful to her grandma for the original recipe. I made a few adjustments which as I said to her is probably the worse thing to do when trying out a completely new recipe but I just couldn’t help it. The end product was delicious nonetheless! We know and she already listed the numerous benefits of dates which makes this loaf somewhat nutritious. As I type, more than half of the loaf is already buried deep in the stomachs of my brothers. And mine of course. The side and corners were extra chewy which gave me ideas for chewy date cookies. Hello Google!

Ingredients

• 200g dates, chopped
• 100g light brown sugar
• 80g dark brown sugar
• 55g butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 litre boiling water
• 220g self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp mixed spice

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4. At the very bottom of the oven, put some water into a baking tray. I did this in order to make my cake extra moist but it’s completely optional.

In a bowl, mix together the dates, sugar, water, butter and vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder and mixed spice into the bowl and mix on medium/high speed. Or just use a wooden spoon and make sure the flour has been incorporated well enough i.e. no flour lumps.

The mixture might seem a bit foamy and liquidy. But that means you’re doing everything right. Pour into a loaf tin and bake for 45 mins or until your cake tester/toothpick/knife/fork/skewer/pencil/finger comes out clean (but not completely because remember it’s a moist cake).

Take out and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or while you wash up, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Cut a big chunk and scoff your face while you think to yourself ‘Hmmm this will probably taste even better when it has completely cooled down or even tomorrow’. Whatever. Do what makes you happy.

Would you like to see more of Recycling Sundays? Do you have any buried gems that you would like someone else to try in their own kitchen?