Date and Walnut Loaf

Date and walnut loaf is a really easy, low fat and delicious traditional Scottish teatime cake. It's a perfect bake for holidays and quick to whip up when you've got guests coming round!

Welcome to February Folks. And to this date and walnut cake recipe.

I know that you love cake loafs as much as I do so you'll love this date walnut loaf.

I mean the lighter lemon loaf cake recipe published last year was such a hit and as for the cherry bakewell loaf cake well that's already one of my most popular recipes!

So on that basis I though it was time for another of my favourite ones.

Now first don't you think that January was such a long month?

Well it certainly felt that way to my other half and myself and we're both glad to have got past it and moved a little further forwards towards the warmer part of the year.

The extra bonus with February too is that it's a shorter month!

We're both extremely glad that the January "watching what you eat after the Christmas indulgence" is over and we both feel that its most definitely time for some cake.

Not just any cake though.

Nope, a tasty fruity comforting date and walnut loaf classic bake well suited to these winter months and well within your healthy eating limits at only 179 calories per slice. If you still happen to be still watching that waistline after Christmas!

I've removed the traditional recipe requirement of treacle from the ingredients for this date and walnut loaf. Making it a healthy date loaf cake.

However, I promise that this date and walnut cake is just as delicious! It's still filled with crunchy walnuts and sweet dates.

Plus in doing that I've managed to reduce the overall fat and calorie content. The dates and walnuts are enough to sweeten this recipe.

The texture can only be described as deliciously moist. There's a satisfying nice crunch to each bite. If you've a sweet tooth, then this recipe is sure to satisfy.

I've made this date and walnut loaf many times over the years and it's never failed to come out right.

After publishing the original recipe I had people asking me if they could get a cream cheese recipe as an optional topping for this date and walnut cake.

So now I've updated this great recipe below with how to make a cream cheese icing topping.

Otherwise if you don't want to make the topping and just keep it as a healthy date loaf recipe then just follow the original instructions in the recipe card.

If you're feeling a little bit naughty then you could just spread a little butter on your slice. If not butter, then low fat spread is great too.

However you want to enjoy your slice of walnut bread it goes perfectly with a cup of tea!

Make sure to check out the list of similar recipes below!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Why This Is A Healthy Date and Walnut Loaf Recipe
• FAQ's
• How To Make Cream Cheese Icing
• Equipment
• Other Popular Loaf Cake Recipes For You To Try
• Date and Walnut Loaf Recipe
• Nutrition Label
• Rate The Recipe

Ingredients

• Dates
• Walnuts
• Golden Caster Sugar
• Unsalted Butter
• Boiling Water
• Egg
• Self-Raising Flour

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

• Dates - I just use ordinary dried pitted dates and chop them up. If you want to use extra special medjool dates then please go ahead.
• Walnuts - any walnuts, whole walnuts, walnut halves or chopped walnuts are fine. You need to chop them up before you add them to the cake mixture anyway.
• Golden Caster Sugar - you can substitute with caster sugar.
• Unsalted Butter - use unsalted rather than salted.
• Boiling Water - no substitute here as the hot water makes the fruits soft and helps to keep the cake moist.
• Egg - a large free range egg or similar is fine.
• Self-Raising Flour - You can substitute with an equal amount of plain flour and 3 tsp. baking powder.

Why This Is A Healthy Date and Walnut Loaf Recipe

It's perfectly possible to enjoy a slice of a lower calorie cake when you bake it yourself.

Most shop bought / coffee shop baked goods (even the ones that look healthy made with nuts and seeds) are overly packed with refined flour and sugar.

They contain very little in the way of any goodness and they come in enormous portion sizes. They're often loaded with additives and colouring too.

I'm not against the odd treat because as you know that's what the 80/20 rule for eating is all about.

However, I do recommend and encourage home baking so that you can save yourself unnecessary calories and sugar by the right kind of healthier bake over another.

Make this healthy date cake and prove to your friends that cake doesn't have to be so unhealthy! 

FAQ's

How To Store Date And Walnut Loaf?

• This date and walnut cake will last for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container in a cool day place. It actually tastes even better the next day and it can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

Can I leave out the walnuts?

• Yes, you can leave out the walnuts or swap them with other favourite nuts of your choice. Pecan nuts and brazil nuts would also work well in this recipe.

What size of tin do I need?

• You need a a 2lb loaf tin. Please see equipment list for the one I use.

How To Make Cream Cheese Icing

1. In a glass pyrex bowl beat together 20g unsalted softened butter and 30g icing sugar.
2. Mix 50g cream cheese in with a wooden spoon.
3. When the cake has cooled to room temperature, spoon the cream cheese icing on top of it and smooth it over the top using a palette knife. If you want for decoration you could scatter over some more chopped walnuts.

Please note nutrition data does not include this cream cheese frosting.

Equipment

For This Date And Walnut Loaf You May Need….

The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.

This means that if you click on it and then buy that product, I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).

If you do click through, then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!

This is the basic loaf tin I use. 

As you can see it's relatively inexpensive and its perfect for loaf cake recipes.

Plus it's teflon coated and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

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Other Popular Loaf Cake Recipes For You To Try

• White chocolate and raspberry loaf cake is a delicious and simple to make recipe that’s perfect for sharing. Fresh raspberries and white chocolate chips baked together taste amazing!
• Chocolate chip banana bread loaf cake is an easy to make, moist and delicious bake. Great served as a dessert or a coffee morning cake. Everyone will love this!
• Gingerbread loaf cake is an easy and delicious home baked recipe to make. It's soft, moist and topped with a light covering of icing. A perfect holiday bake!
• Lemon blueberry yogurt cake is an easy healthy Greek yogurt cake recipe. Delicious, moist and fluffy. This loaf cake is just packed full of blueberry and lemony goodness!

Nutrition Label

Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.

Rate The Recipe

If you’ve made this healthy date cake recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.

I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂