Date and Walnut Bread

Tomorrow is Mother's day. While my 6 years old is planning to celebrate the special day, I was wondering if I can cook something that my mom loves to eat. Though I know she cannot taste it, I can show my creation through pictures, that would give her same pleasure. My mom has so many restrictions on diet, very few things she would enjoy with no worry. One of those is Date and Walnut Bread. Whenever we used to go out to buy cakes, she would tell us to buy something with walnut for her. On my last visit to Calcutta, I baked a banana walnut cake for her and she was delighted !! Nowadays whenever I visit my parents, I make a list of food that I would cook for them. But they still consider me a kid and don’t let me enter the kitchen.

Date Walnut Bread is nice tea-coffee bread, bursting with the flavor of sweet dates and crunchy walnuts.  Not only my mom loves it, this ( fruits and nuts) is the only cake that my hubby eats!

The recipe is quick, easy but taste is simply awesome! It is something dense, moist with lots of dates and nuts in every bite. It is an old fashioned bread, traditional recipe calls all purpose flour, butter and white sugar but I most of the time use wheat flour, oil and brown sugar to make it healthier. Dates are sweet fruits of palm tree, when dates are dried, they become sticky, soft and plump. In this recipe, I am using dried and pitted dates, that can be found in the “produce” section of the grocery store. If you are using pitted dates, still better to re-check if there is any seeds inside before using.

Recipe Of Date Walnut Bread :

Ingredients :

Walnut - 1/2 cup (toasted and chopped)
Dates ( dried and pitted ) - 10 ounces around 1 1/3 cups
Flour ( All purpose flour + wheat flour ) - 1/2 + 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup ( you can use 1/2 cup unsalted butter)
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Boiling water - 1 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1 large
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp


Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F or 180 degree C and place the rack in the center of the oven. Grease or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan.

2. Toast the walnuts for about 6 to 7 minutes until they are lightly browned and fragrant. Let it cool, then chop coarsely.

3. In a large bowl, take the chopped and pitted dates, add salt and baking soda into it. Mix them well then pour 1 cup hot water over the dates. Give some stirs and let it cool down to room temperature. It will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

4. In a big bowl take the two types of flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder and mix them well. Add the oil and combine them nicely and then stir in the chopped walnuts.

5. In a separate bowl whisk the egg with vanilla extract. Finally add the flour mixture and the egg mixture into  the cooled dates mixture ( that is dates with their water). Stir it until they are combined well.

6. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until the bread has risen well and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. It will take approximately 50 minutes to an hour.

7. Take it out of the oven, place on a wire rack to cool down and remove it from the pan. Cut it into pieces and serve. You can keep the bread for several dates at room temperature if it is well wrapped.

Enjoy and Wishing Happy Mother's day for all the mothers!!

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