I made this delicious, sweet and crunchy loaf for my lovely Mum. The little bit of butter and sugar in it is well worth the taste, and smelling that golden syrup and dates baking is heavenly! Still I kept it more nutritious with the wholemeal flour as usual; the walnuts provide some great protein and healthy fats for the morning too. It's nice with some ricotta (which adds extra protein,) and topped with banana or apple slices. Perfect special breakfast with a hot cup of tea.

Excuse me I have to go steal a piece before I get back on the plane to Sydney!


Date & Walnut Sugar Loaf Ingredients
2 cups dates, chopped
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 1/2 cups boiled water
60 g unsalted butter
1/2 cup raw sugar (plus extra for the top)
2 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)
1 egg
2 cups whole meal plain flour
260g walnuts, toasted then chopped
1 tsp allspice


Method
Place the chopped dates and bicarb soda in a small bowl and cover with boiled water. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile, cream the softened butter and sugar in a bowl with a fork. Add the golden syrup and egg and beat well.
In a large bowl, sift the flour and allspice. Fold through the egg & butter mix and the dates (including the hot water,) then mix the toasted walnuts through.
Line a loaf tin with some baking paper and spoon the mix in, move it into the corners and smooth the top. Sprinkle some extra raw sugar over the top if you wish.
Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 45-50mins. (I made this in my mother's oven which is a bit funny, so at 35mins the top was nicely browned but the center wasn't cooked so I covered it with foil for the remaining time.)

Now I do have to say that the extra sugar on top really is worth it on this loaf...I mean just look at that beautiful sugary crust! Yum!