Date and Banana Cake

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I found some dates in the cupboard and looked for a recipe to use them up that wasn't sticky toffee!
I found this one which was perfect as I also had some ripe bananas to use. I think it's from an old free supermarket magazine.
150g dried stoned dates
4tbspn orange juice or dark rum
200g very ripe banana (peeled weight)
125g butter, softened
125g sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange
2 large free-range eggs (or 2 smaller ones and a yolk)
175g sr flour
 Preheat oven  180oC/Gas 4. Line a 2lb loaf tin . 
Make sure that each date has been stoned and cut each into four using kitchen scissors.  Put the date pieces in a small pan, cover with the orange juice (or dark rum) and gently bring to the boil.  Remove from the heat and leave to cool. 
Mash the banana in a bowl with a fork.
Beat the butter, sugar and orange zest together until light and creamy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, along with a tbspn flour with each one.
Sift in the rest of the flour, along with the mashed banana, the dates and their cooking liquid.
Pour the mixture in the lined cake tin, making sure it goes into the corners and the top is level.  Bake for 45-50 minutes.  When it is cooked the top will spring back when it is lightly pressed.
7.  Turn out of the tin, removing the paper and cool on a wire tray.


I love the combination of flavours, the toffee like chewy dates and the soft banana, and cake has a soft texture.The recipe said to soak the dates in rum, but I'm not keen on it so used orange juice. You could use other dried fruit instead of dates, or add chopped nuts. I'll certainly make this again.


Comments

Suelle said…
Just the sort of cake I like! The texture looks really good, and it's a tasty combination of flavours too.
2/2/19 12:33 pm
Jean said…
What a coincidence, I was looking at this recipe on the Asda website the other day, having a couple of bananas that needed using up!
It looks delicious.
3/2/19 3:19 am
Phil in the Kitchen said…
Lovely cake. I'm actually quite fond of rum in cakes (and the odd cocktail come to think of it). The man in my local offie has just told me that rum is the new trendy drink and selling faster than gin.
4/2/19 1:08 pm
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