Recipe for the Week – Date and Walnut Cake


My new keyboard is here!!! All spill proof and all!! Just love the feel of typing on brand new bouncy keys :-)

This recipe is adapted from one of my Mom’s old recipe books – ‘Scones, Muffins and Teacakes’. Sorry, I don’t have step by step photos of this one; I was in a bit of a hurry and it was quite cloudy too ;-)


What you’ll need:

1.5 cups plain flour (you can use whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
62 g butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
150 ml milk
¾ cup chopped dates
½ cup chopped walnuts

What you’re going to do:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt till well combined.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

3. Put butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat well till light and creamy.

4. Add the egg and whisk well.

5. Add the milk, dates and nuts and beat slightly till well mixed.

6. Fold flour in with a light hand. You get a batter that is not too runny.

7. Pour your batter into a greased rectangular loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 - 25 minutes.

8. Let the cake cool in the tin for a couple of minutes, then take it out and cool it completely on a wire rack. Cut into slices and eat simply or with butter!!!


This cake is not too sweet, which is perfect for me. You can increase the sugar a little if you like. I also liked the taste of brown sugar, the sweetness doesn’t hit you like with the white. It’s not very spongy, slightly more dense than a sponge cake, but definitely not fudgy like a brownie. Perfect with some steaming hot tea on a cold rainy afternoon!!