Caramel, Banana, & Date Loaf

Sara 76's Note:

This is a recipe I tore out of a magazine. i made it this week, and it was so delicious! It disappeared very quickly, and I have been asked to make another. My kids loved it and took slices in their lunch boxes. Even my eldest, who is kinda fussy and never eats cake..just LOVED it!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 loaf

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup pitted dates , finely chopped
• 2⁄3; cup brown sugar , firmly packed
• ¾ cup orange juice
• 1 large egg
• 60 g butter , melted
• 1 cup ripe mashed banana

Directions:

1. Grease a 14cmx21cm loaf pan, line base and long sides.
2. Combine flour, bicarb, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in dates and brown sugar. Make a well in the centre, add juice, butter, egg, and bananas. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
3. Cook at 180C for about 1 hour.
4. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning out on a rack.
5. Serve warm or cold, with a little butter.

Reviews

[Carolyn R.]

Really great! I'm in the US so the measurements were approximate (60 grams of butter is approximately 1/2 a stick here for example, and 180C is just about 350F). I did not have orange juice, so I soaked the dates in Grand Marnier and used 2/3 cherry cider (it was the only juice I had in my fridge). Also, it makes more than can fit in our loaf pans here, so I had enough batter for a regular loaf pan and also a mini-loaf pan. You only want to fill the pans halfway because when you have self rising flour, it really does rise!! FYI - you can make self raising flour by ading 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 Tablespoon baking powder to 2 cups of regular flour.

[Pixie's Kitchen]

This was so yummy! It had the perfect hint of orange and the dates were so tasty. The only thing I would change for making it in the future is to double the recipe because by this morning all of it was gone. Thank you for posting such a lovely recipe

[Sydney Mike]

This was on my schedule to make & then share with a neighbor couple, but then after reading through the other recipes I decided to double the batch & make a loaf for each of us! Other then that, however, I followed it right on down, using very moist, flavorful Medjol dates & must say that this is an absolutely great tasting loaf, with the recipe a keeper, for sure! Thanks for sharing it! [Made & reviewed as a recipenap in the current Aus/NZ Recipe Swap]