THE ORIGINAL ‘RECEIPT’

DATE LOAF –  2 eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup butter and lard mixed, ¾ cup lukewarm water with 1 teaspoon soda dissolved in it, 1 pound dates, 10 cents worth of walnuts, 2 cups flour; half Graham flour may be used.

~Selected Recipes and Useful Household Information. Compiled and Published by Young Women’s Mission Auxiliary of the James St. Baptist Church for the Benefit of Home and Foreign Missions. Hamilton, Ont: circa 1913.

THE UPDATED RECIPE

• ½ c. butter
• ½ c. lard
• 1 c. brown sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 lb. dates, chopped
• ½ c. chopped walnuts
• 2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
• ¾ c. warm water
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• optional: 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease 3 loaf tins, 7 1/2x 3 ½ inches, with butter.

Chop the dates and walnuts.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, lard, sugar and salt together with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, and then add them to the creamed mixture;  beat in well with a wooden spoon.

Add the chopped dates and walnuts, and blend in thoroughly.

Sift and measure the flour.

Add the baking soda to the warm water, and stir to combine.

Alternately, add portions of the liquid and then the flour to the batter mixture, beginning and ending with the liquid;  beat thoroughly after each addition.

Put equal portions of the batter into each of the three buttered pans, and smooth the surfaces with a broad-bladed knife.

Place in a preheated oven, and bake at 350F for approximately one hour, or until a cake tester, when inserted in the centre of the loaves, comes out clean.

Remove from the oven,  and cool on a rack for a few minutes;  then loosen the sides of each loaf from the pan with a sharp knife, and remove the loaves.

Allow the loaves to cool fully on a rack, and then store in an air-tight container.

These loaves are rich, moist, and chock full of dates; they keep well for several days.

A note from Patricia: I had a feeling I was avoiding the “Bread” section of my aunt’s researched and tested recipes (perhaps fear?), and since I had some juicy dates on hand, I thought I would prepare this “Date Loaf” next. I’m a huge fan of dates – they’re nutritious, high in fibre, and are naturally sweet – so this recipe looked pretty delicious to me. I also thought it might be nice to throw in some chopped dark chocolate for kicks, because who doesn’t love dark chocolate? I used 1:1 gluten-free baking flour with good success in this recipe, and I halved the recipe and baked it in one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan. The taste? Just as my aunt noted – rich, moist and sweet, and absolutely delicious straight from the oven with butter. I loved the slight crunch of the walnuts, and the chewiness of the dates. I ate some, and then forced myself to freeze the rest so that I didn’t eat it all at once. And FYI, the addition of the dark chocolate made this extra dreamy.

The bread for breakfast and tea should be cut in even, regular slices, not over a fourth of an inch thick, and all crumbs removed from the bread plate.

~Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt-Book. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1858.