Date and walnut loaf with orange

Name: Date and walnut loaf with orange
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 200g dates, stoned and chopped; 200ml boiling water; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 75g butter; 125g light brown soft sugar; 1 egg; 225g self raising flour; 75g walnuts, roughly chopped; 1 orange, zest only

A tea time loaf, dense and sweet with soft dates and crunchy walnuts.

Vegetarian

Time1 hr 15
LevelEasy
Costabout £0.28 a head
Oven170°C (150°C fan)

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

10 slices

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

200 gdatesstoned and chopped
200 mlboiling water
1 tspbicarbonate of soda
75 gbutter
125 glight brown soft sugar
1egg
225 gself raising flour
75 gwalnutsroughly chopped
1orangezest only

Method

1
Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Line a 900 g loaf tin.
2
Put the dates in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and pour over the boiling water. Leave for 15 minutes.
15 min
3
Beat the butter and sugar together, then beat in the egg.
4
Fold in the flour, then the date mixture with its liquid, the walnuts and the orange zest.
5
Spoon into the tin and bake for 50 minutes, until firm and a skewer comes out clean.
50 min
6
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out. Serve sliced with butter.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.