All That's Left Are The Crumbs: Date & Rooibos Loaf ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

September 20, 2020

Date & Rooibos Loaf ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

Life is short - eat the cake.

The Cake Slice Bakers continue to bake their way through The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi, but we are down to the home stretch. I have really enjoyed baking through this book as the cakes are not difficult to bake and the combinations of flavors are fantastic. A win-win in my opinion.

Our choices for September 2020 were Date & Rooibos Loaf, Plum & Black Peppercorn Cake, and Sour Cherry & Mahleb Crumble Cake. All three sound amazing, and I debate with myself as to which one to choose, but in the end I decided that this pandemic is making life difficult enough without me trying to trying track down ingredients I may never find or trying to order online and finding that they take forever to arrive, so I choose the Date & Rooibos Loaf. Not that I am disappointed in my choice in the slightest as I love, love, love dates.

After looking over the ingredients I realized that this recipe reminded me of loaf cake that my mother-in-law makes quite often called a Brownie Date. I have no idea where the name Brownie Date comes from because it is nothing like a brownie - it does not contain any chocolate and is made in a loaf pan. Pretty much the only difference between Benjamina's recipe and my MIL's was the Rooibos tea. Rooibos, which means red bush grows in South Africa. It is a herbal tea that is known for its health benefits. The tea itself looks and tastes a little like hibiscus tea, and is readily available in many grocery stores. I used Mighty Leaf African Nectar, which is a blend of Rooibos leaves, natural tropical flavours, hibiscus flowers, rose petals, mallow blossoms, marigold flowers and it was a great addition to the Medjool dates.

This was the perfect slice of cake to accompany your afternoon cup of tea or coffee. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy it, so I actually made a double batch. Both loaves did not last long. A nice pat of butter on the top only enhances the deliciousness of a slice of this cake. Easy to put together and easy to enjoy. It doesn't get any better than that. My only change was to add a sprinkle of raw sugar on top of the cake for some crunch. I also think the cake was a fraction to sweet, so next time I make it I will be reducing the sugar.

Date & Rooibos Loaf
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Ingredients

240ml (1 cup) boiling water
2 rooibos teabags
140g (1 cup) pitted and roughly chopped dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
75g (⅓ cup) butter
225g (1¾ cups) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
125g (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) brown sugar
10g (2 teaspoons) baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉)
Spray a 900g (2 pound) loaf tin with baking spray and line with parchment paper
Pour the boiling water into a small bowl, add the teabags, and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the teabags.
Place the dates in a large bowl, pour in the tea and stir in the baking soda and the butter until fully melted, leaving the dates to soften in the liquid for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, sift together the four, salt, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon; set aside,
Once the dates have softened, whisk in the egg and then stir in the vanilla and dry ingredients, making sure you don't have any lumps of flour hiding at the bottom.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve with a good spread of butter, if desired.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.