Date and Walnut Cake (Getting into the Christmas Spirit)

Ok Ok I know the last recipe I posted was 3 weeks back and could have posted at least 3 more recipes in these last 3 weeks but I did not. Why Not? I don't know. Call it a Blogger's Block (which sounds so much better than calling it simply Laziness, doesn't it?). Well thankfully I have managed to overcome this block or whatever it was that was keeping me from blogging and here for you is this scrummy yummy Date and Walnut Cake .

Now most of us have read about the Daring Bakers on the Blogosphere. Every time I see there latest beautiful and delicious creation I have this great urge to be one of them, but to tell you the truth I don't think I am up to it, because the title that would really suit me more is Trial and Error Baker. Yes that is what I am . Because all my baking is done on this one principle. In fact in my case it is less Trial and more Error.

The maximum errors I make in my kitchen are during my baking sessions. My husband and son have on so many occasions bravely eaten stodgy cakes and biscuits so hard that you could hit someone with them (and I love them for it) . But persistence pays and sometimes my trials are rewarded with a really good cake and believe me the one you see in the pic above is one of them .

I followed the recipe from The Ultimate Cakebook by Mary Berry who you could say is my Guru in Baking. So here it is:

Stuff you need:

250m gm dates stoned and chopped,

40 gms soft butter,

350 ml boiling water,

2 eggs,

200 gms dark muscovado,

150 gms ground almonds,

150 gms chopped walnuts,

350 gms self-raising flour,

1.5 tspn ground cinnamon.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 Deg C

2. Grease and line a 12x9 inch tray,

3. Measure the dates and butter into a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let cool.

4. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl and then add the cooled date mixture and the remaining cake ingredients one by one . Stir well

5. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tray and bake for 30 to 35 mins . A skewer inserted should come out dry.

6. Let the cake cool completely before slicing it.

Note: This cake tastes even better after a couple of days. Store in the fridge and microwave for a few seconds everytime you serve it