Date & Walnut Rolls - Gluten Free

This recipe has been adapted from an Australian Women's Weekly Recipe. It tastes no different to a regular(wheat) flour roll. It's best eaten within a day or two.It keeps for a month or so if you slice and wrap in plastic cling wrap and place it in the freezer. You can slice it and freeze in single serves to take in your lunchbox. It travels well and is not crumbly like most gluten free cakes. Can substitute pecans for the walnuts or leave them out all together (just add in some extra dates instead)

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 1  cup dates, chopped (dried pitted dates)
• 1  cup brown sugar, measure firmly packed
• 1 1⁄4 cups water
• 80  g butter
• 1⁄2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1  egg, lightly beaten
• 1⁄2 cup walnuts or 1⁄2 cup pecans, chopped
• 2  cups  gluten-free self-raising flour (alternately use 2 cups plain gluten-free flour blend and 4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon xanthan gum (use only if your flour blend does not contain a gum)

Directions

1. Grease 2 - 8cm round x 17cm long nut roll tins. If you do not have nut roll tins you can use a bar loaf tin and cover it tightly in foil- the result is not as quite as good.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F ).
3. Combine the date, butter, sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar and butter have melted. Bring to boiling point and then remove from the heat.
4. Allow the mixture to cool.
5. Stir the sifted bicarbonate soda, sifted flour, egg and nuts into the cooled date mixture.
6. Spoon the mixture into the greased tins. Replace the lids tightly and bake upright in a moderate oven for 40 minutes.
7. Stand rolls ten minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool.
8. Serve sliced with butter.
9. Suitable to slice and freeze.
10. As a variation you can use pecan nuts or macadamias in place of the walnuts.