|
|
Coffee Date Pecan Loaf
Notes & tips
Hint: Alternatively, warm icing by placing bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Yield: 9 x 5 x 3 loaf
(serves 8)
Ingredients
- 250g fresh or dried dates, pitted, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups strong brewed
- espresso coffee
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 100g butter, chopped
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (125g packet) pecans, chopped
Icing
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso
- coffee powder
- 5 teaspoons boiling water
- 1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 6.5cm deep, 10.5cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan.
Bring dates and coffee to the boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until dates are soft. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar and butter.
Pour date mixture into a bowl. Cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs and mix well.
Add flour, cinnamon and pecans. Stir gently until just combined. Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make icing: Dissolve coffee in water. Stir into icing sugar to form a thick paste. Heat in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds on HIGH (100%) power or until warm and runny. Pour over loaf. Allow to set. Slice and serve with butter or cream cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dates, chopped
- 2-1/2 cups coarsely ground pecans
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ounces red candied cherries (optional)
- 2 ounces green candied cherries (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Combine dates and nuts. Sift sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder over dates and nuts. Stir until thoroughly mixed. In a separate dish, beat egg yolks until foamy (save egg whites for later), and add vanilla. Then add to date-pecan mixture and blend thoroughly. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Dough should be kind of stiff. Hint: To make cake look festive, add cherries cut in half to the pecan-date mixture.
Pack dough in greased and waxed-paper lined 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. Bake in oven for 2-1/2 hours. Remove cake from oven, turn over loaf onto a cookie sheet, and remove wax paper. This is an easy cake to make for Christmas.
|
|
