Time for a quick visit to the kitchen. I woke up one Sunday morning with the urge to make a cake. I’d thought about a simple sponge cake for some reason in the days leading up to it, and that must have planted the seed. I was busy and so did not immediately jump into it. But I woke up the Sunday in the mood. (I think it was last Sunday.) So I looked at what I had lying around and remembered that I had some old dates that were needing a purpose. They’d dried out a bit and so were not so great for eating directly, but certainly had a use in cooking. A short time later I had a date and walnut coffee cake sitting on the counter waiting to be eaten.
It was all gone within a short time, and so this morning I thought I’d make some more. The pictures you see are some of the steps.
It is pretty simple, being a fairly basic (baking soda risen) batter. The key novelty is to put together a cup of dates and a cup of walnuts, all chopped, and have them soak in a cup of hot water for 1/2 an hour or more. The batter is 4 oz. of butter creamed together with 
half a cup of sugar for a while. Nice therapeutic beating for a few minutes. Then beat an egg and mix that in with whatever spices you like (I do grated cinnamon and nutmeg, and a little (1tsp) vanilla essence). Mix a cup and a half of flour with a 1/4 tsp of salt and a tsp of baking soda, and then stir them in. Then finally mix in the walnut-date moist combination. You’re done. Put it into a greased pan (I also lined with greaseproof paper) and put it into the middle of the (preheated to 350 F) oven and let it sit there for just under an hour.
Check it (poke a clean knife into it to see if cooked inside). It maybe be done, or need a little bit more time depending upon your oven’s characteristics. Only a few minutes – do not let it dry out! Let it cool before you try to get it out of the pan.
I got this basic recipe from the excellent little baking book by Jim Fobel, which I’ve had for so many years and never fails to give ideas for a simple, workable recipe. I make modifications to most recipes, but this one is so basic that it is pretty close to what he recommends, although (as usual) I drop the sugar by half. Vary as you see fit. I recommend having a copy of Fobel’s book on your shelf for moments like this.
The recipe is pretty simple and the result is very tasty indeed. All of a sudden you have a tasty thing to accompany all those cups of coffee you’re doing while working on that project. And now that you’re returning to the project from a little break to bake, you’ll have a renewed vigour for it. Give it a try!
-cvj
