Date and pecan rolls

Serves:

Ingredients

• 1 cup (180g) dates, chopped
• 60g unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup (250mL) water
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped (or walnuts)

Method

Preheat oven to 18 degrees C. Generously grease two 8cm x 17cm nut roll tins (or a loaf tin if you don’t have the roll tins).

Combine dates, butter, sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and cool.

Sift flour and bicarb soda into date mixture. Add egg and pecans and stir until well combined.

Stand nut roll tins on a baking tray and remove the lids. Spoon mixture evenly into tins and replace lids. My tins have little holes at the top to allow steam to escape, if your tins have these, dont push the lids over the holes. Bake, with tins standing upright, for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool. I used a long knife to run around the edge of the cake before turning out.

Serve warm or cold spread with butter. Mmmmm.

Notes:

• I was home alone when I turned these cakes out and realised how uncool I was when I exclaimed aloud, ‘How cool!’
• My kids loved the ‘circle cakes’; omit the nuts to make them school lunch-box friendly.
• Recipe created by Melissa Hughes for Kidspot.

Serving Suggestions

Note