Mini Date Loaves

I’ve been to my fair share of fetes, bake sales and markets and one of the first things I go for, besides fudge of course, is a date loaf. I don’t normally have dates in my pantry. Occasionally I’ll buy them but they’ll stay in there forever, unused. The trouble also with buying a whole ‘normal’ sized date loaf is that I’m usually the only one that eats it and even though I can cut it into slices and freeze it, it won’t get eaten for such a long time and I’ll forget about it. And also, how much date loaf can a girl really eat on her own? I wanted to contribute to my children’s school fete and decided to make smaller, individual date loaves using my mini loaf pan.

Dates do last a long time in the pantry. They are so sweet and add a nearly caramel-like consistency and taste to baked goods. Some people like them, some people don’t. I do but in saying that I only like them used in sweet baked goods. I don’t like using dried fruit in savoury dishes.

This recipe is very, very easy and it’s probably the one I’d use if I were to make individual Sticky Date Puddings. I’d probably use a Texas muffin sized pan.

Don’t even get me started on the batter. It smells absolutely gorgeous and I have to try hard to resist not eating it all before being baked. This is such an easy recipe and makes a lovely light cake. This recipe deserves a place at any good bake sale as well as in lunch boxes or served for morning or afternoon tea.

 
Don’t forget the butter!

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Mini Date Loaves

A smaller version of the Date Loaf, beautifully moist and a lovely light cake. Can be made as a whole loaf or in muffin pans for Sticky Date Pudding.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 8

Author Anne

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
• 60 g butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 3/4 cup self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 170 deg C (375 deg F).
2. Mix chopped dates and sugar in a bowl and then add butter.
3. Pour in boiling water, stirring until butter has melted completely.
4. Add flour and then bicarbonate of soda, mixing well.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Bake in a greased (or lined) mini loaf pan approximately 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

Suitable to freeze.
Can be made as a whole loaf.
Can be made in a Texas muffin pan and served with Caramel Sauce for a Sticky Date Pudding.

Mini lemon & blueberry loaves with lemon drizzle

Did I ever tell you I love a mini loaf? Its not too small and its not too big, just right (as Goldilocks would say). They pack well in square containers, big enough for the big school appetite and big enough for a morning tea break without being too full for lunch. Oh what the heck! I love cake, at any size but I do love how these mini loaves turn out.

I was lucky enough to take part in trialling some of the new Coles Create & Bake range and I must admit, what could be so different about these packet mixes that I haven’t tried before? I’ve always bought the ‘no name’ brand for the kid’s birthday cakes and I might use one if I’ve got to ‘take a plate’, that age old Australian tradition of taking something with you when you’ve been invited for a bite to eat.

I really had visions of something with lemon and blueberries so I picked up the blueberry mix in the Create & Bake range and was pleasantly surprised at how full of actual blueberries it was. There was two packets of blueberries in the box and the other will keep for a long time in the pantry. I filled the mini loaf pan with the delightfully lemon scented batter (and I got to lick the bowl all by myself) and swirled through the chunky blueberry puree.

If you had ‘smellovision’, when these little loaves finished baking the house smelt like a cake shop. I was really surprised at how well the loaves had risen and how the cake had such a beautiful crumb, very much like a homemade cake and unlike normal packet cake mixes.

I had one packet of the lemon icing mix in the Coles Create & Bake range leftover from the Apple & Ginger Cakes with Lemon Icing I made the other day so used that to drizzle over the cake. I served it with some new, in season strawberries, with a cup of hot tea in Mum’s china and I felt like a Queen.

I think I’ll be keeping a couple of packets of this basic lemon cake mix on hand, if not for the convenience but for the taste and the versatility of this mix. Stay tuned for another recipe using the lemon cake mix later this week.

Disclaimer:  This is not a sponsored post. I received products from the Coles Create & Bake range to try. All thoughts, opinions, photos and recipes are my own.