Every now and then I get the urge to bake a loaf to eat with tea. A little sweet treat to accompany a rich mug of tea is my idea of a perfect weekend treat, especially in the winter! Though I make this to last the Australian winter (which in Sydney just features a whole of wind!), this recipe is perfect for any season. What makes this Date load a little bit incredible is the absence of refined sugar, and the use of whole wheat flour in the mix too.
You won’t be needing a large stand mixer to bring together this loaf either – a simple spatula or wooden spoon will do to bring together all the ingredients. I love a recipe that has minimal prep and minimal clean up.
This loaf recipe results in an ultra dense cakey almost bread. The combination of hot milk and delicious, caramel-ey medjool dates creates a beautiful fudgy result that when toasted creates the most incredible flavours. I highly recommend using Medjool dates only for the recipe, not any other kind of dried date because the result just won’t be the same. In this recipe I use the dates in puree form, and chopped chunks too. You could take it one step further and make a delicious date and coconut caramel to top all over the loaf.
A bit of a secret ingredient to this recipe is black tea. Place the tea bag into the hot milk soaking the dates and let it all infuse. After 10 minutes, trust me when I saw you will be heavily reminded of bubble tea that is oh-so-famous right now. The sweet dates, milk and infused tea is basically just that! If you don’t like or cannot have black tea, feel free to use a teaspoon of Instant coffee or completely omit the added flavour. The loaf still tastes delicious without it.
By adding walnuts to the loaf you are adding a wonderful texture to the overall bread which I personally love. Again, it’s not absolutely essential to have these in the recipe, so feel free to omit them or replace with almonds or even macadamias (for something truly luxe). In terms of flavours, I think walnuts perfectly match the ultra rich sweetness of dates.
All in all – this is a simple but delicious recipe. A little bit of time and love right in the beginning is going to give you the most luxurious loaf you’ve ever had – and you won’t even feel guilty about it! There’s no refined sugar, eggs, and uses wholewheat flour too!
Watch me make this delicious date loaf here:
Date Loaf
Ingredients
- 300 g Medjool dates
- 1 cup hot milk
- 1 tea bag
- 165 g melted butter
- 160 g whole wheat flour
- 100 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup milk at room temperature
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 50 g medjool dates
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp all spice powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour the 1 cup of hot milk over the 300g of dates. Add the tea bag and set this bowl aside for the flavours to infuse and dates to soften for 10 minutes
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree celcius and line a loaf tin with butter and baking paper
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and all spice until there are no lumps
- After 10 minutes of soaking, remove and discard the tea bag. Add the soaked dates and milk into a blender (or processor) and blend till you get a smooth puree
- Add the puree to the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter, vanilla, 1/2 cup of milk and yogurt
- Mix the ingredients thoroughly using a spatula or wooden spoon until the mixture is just combined
- Add the chopped walnuts and chopped dates and mix through
- Pour the prepared batter into the prepared loaf tin and spread evenly
- Place the loaf tin in the oven for 40-45 minutes OR until richly golden brown (think darker than a cookie!). Rotate the loaf tin halfway through. Test the loaf using a skewer to see if its done – the skewer should come out smooth
- Let the loaf cool completely before serving. The loaf is really dense and falls apart while hot. Serve the loaf at room temperature topped with fresh cream, yogurt (like I have in the video) or some fresh fruit. You could even top it off with caramel or a date caramel
