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Date and Walnut Cake
Date and walnut cake is rich, moist, and full of warm, nutty flavour, with sweet dates and crunchy walnuts folded through a soft, tender crumb. It’s simple to prepare, keeps beautifully, and is just as good with a cup of tea as it is served warm with a little butter. This is the sort of old-fashioned cake I love because it doesn’t need frosting, fuss, or anything fancy to be genuinely delicious.
Date and Walnut Slice
My date and walnut cake is soft, moist and packed with sweet dates and crunchy walnuts in every slice. It’s an easy homemade cake with a lovely balance of richness and texture, perfect for afternoon tea, dessert or simply enjoying with a cuppa. I love how straightforward this recipe is, with familiar ingredients and no unnecessary fuss. The dates keep the crumb beautifully tender, while the walnuts add just enough crunch to make each bite a little more interesting.
Ingredients
- 125g salted butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing
- 200g pitted dates, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp Maldon sea salt flakes
- 160ml boiling water
- 150g brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp mixed spice
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 225g self-raising flour
- 100g walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C (conventional). Grease and line a 20x20cm square baking tin.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, dates, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and boiling water. Mix thoroughly and leave to stand for 30 minutes. The butter will melt and the dates will soften into the liquid.
- Stir through the brown sugar, eggs, mixed spice, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add the baking powder and self-raising flour and mix until well combined with no lumps of flour remaining.
- Fold through the walnuts, then transfer the mixture to the prepared baking tin and spread evenly.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- This is a proper old-fashioned slice that's been a staple of Australian morning tea tables for generations. It's dense, moist, and deeply flavoured with a lovely chew from the dates and crunch from the walnuts.
- The standing time is important. The boiling water softens the dates and melts the butter, which gives the slice its characteristic moist, sticky texture. Don't rush this step.
- Bicarbonate of soda does two things here. It helps soften the dates and also acts as a leavening agent when it comes into contact with the boiling water and acidic brown sugar.
- Roughly chopping the dates rather than finely dicing them gives you lovely sticky pockets of date throughout the slice.
- Don't overmix once you add the flour. Mix until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Overmixing develops the gluten and can make the slice tough.
- Fold the walnuts through gently at the end. You want them evenly distributed but not broken down by vigorous mixing.
- I use this baking tin for slices and traybakes. It conducts heat evenly and the slice comes out cleanly with the lining.
- Check the slice at 25 minutes. Ovens vary and this slice can go from perfectly done to overdone quickly. A clean skewer is your best indicator.
- Allow the slice to cool fully before cutting for the cleanest slices. It firms up significantly as it cools.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. It actually improves on day two as the flavours meld together.
- This slice freezes beautifully. Cut into portions, wrap individually in cling film, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 227Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 373mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 2gSugar: 17gProtein: 4g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Serve this with
- Serve warm with my Homemade No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream. The cool, creamy vanilla works beautifully with the sticky dates and crunchy walnuts, especially when the cake is still slightly warm.
- Add a generous spoonful of lightly whipped cream and a few extra toasted walnuts. The cream softens the richness of the dates while the walnuts reinforce that lovely nutty crunch.
- Pair with a strong cup of tea for a proper afternoon treat. Earl Grey or English Breakfast both work beautifully with the rich dates, brown sugar and walnuts without adding more sweetness.
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An Unexpected Hit
The first time I made this Date and Walnut Slice, I genuinely didn’t think it would be anything special. One of my coworkers had asked if I could make a date and walnut loaf, and to be honest, I wasn’t keen. I don’t love dates, and I’ve always found them a bit confusing – are they fruit? Are they prunes? Why do they look like squishy cockroaches? Still, I said yes, threw it together, and brought it into the office. And oh. My. God. It disappeared so fast I didn’t even get a chance to blink! I had to sneak the last piece aside for someone who was out for the day. One of my colleagues even asked if I was going to share the recipe because she wanted to make it at home – and lets be real, there’s no greater compliment than someone wanting to recreate your bake.
I’m not big on sweets myself as we all know, so whenever I bake something sugary, I take it into work. It’s the easiest way to make sure nothing goes to waste and gives me the chance to get some honest feedback too. And let me tell you, this one? The Date and Walnut Slice was a surprise crowd-pleaser. Almost everyone went in for seconds, and the feedback was the kind that makes you want to go home and bake it all over again. Even I had a piece, and I have to admit, it was pretty tasty. A little sticky, a little nutty, and exactly the kind of thing you want with a cup of tea.
And after the emotional mess that was the recent long weekend, I really needed something to go well. I won’t get into it, but it was one of those weekends that closes a chapter. The kind that leaves you staring at the wall wondering what’s next. So, this little slice of success? It reminded me that small joys matter. That maybe cake can’t fix everything, but it can certainly help.
Schedules
Working full time means weekends are sacred – that’s when I plan, test, and cook all the recipes for the blog. But even with the best intentions and a shiny content calendar, things don’t always go to plan. Some weeks I’m exhausted. Others, the weather changes and suddenly I don’t want to make soup, I want salad. Or I get really fixated on one ingredient (like pasta) and have to remind myself not to turn Cooking with Bry into an all-carb-all-the-time blog.
My calendar helps keep things on track, at least most of the time. I try to space out the heavier meals, lighter options, and any sweets. It also stops me wasting ingredients or overlapping flavours, because there’s nothing worse than making three dishes in a row that all use garlic and tomatoes. Yu**ck. The Date and Walnut Slice made its way into the plan purely because I needed something that wasn’t pasta, soup, or salad. And honestly? I’m so glad it did.
Lately, I’ve noticed a bit of a gap in the hearty, hug-in-a-bowl meals I used to love making. I’ve been meaning to bring back stews and ragus, recipes that warm you from the inside out. I’ve got a few ingredient-led dishes planned, but I’m trying not to overwhelm myself. Gentle plans. Gentle weekends. And maybe a cheeky little slice of something sweet when the mood calls for it.
Winter Fashion
If you’re going to bake something as cosy as a Date and Walnut Slice, you need the right outfit to go with it. Big fluffy jumper, warm socks, leggings you could live in. Winter is here – well, sort of. It gets chilly at night in Brisbane now, and that’s all the excuse I need to make tea and wrap myself in knitwear like I’m starring in a romcom.
I left all my proper winter coats behind in Scotland, which was not intentional – my ex was meant to ship it all over (at my cost) but in the end refused. Fun. But it means I get to go shopping! Which is always fun until I remember I’m 5ft2 and nothing ever fits properly. Portmans, I love you, but please make things for short people. I usually end up shopping online because it’s easier to try things on at home and return what doesn’t work, and I can build outfits in my head instead of being overwhelmed under fluorescent lights.
I’m trying to be more intentional with how I shop these days. If it doesn’t suit my style or make me feel good, I don’t need it. I ask myself whether it brings comfort, confidence, or joy. And the same goes for what I cook. I want the food I make to reflect how I feel. The Date and Walnut Slice fits right into that vibe – it’s comforting, nostalgic, and tastes like something your nan would make for afternoon tea.
Forgiving myself for eating cake, and Gentle Living
I used to call it soft living, but I think gentle living is more accurate. There’s a grace to it. A way of moving through life that feels kind, not indulgent. For someone like me, who’s a little bit Type A and a lot driven, that kind of gentleness has to be intentional. It’s not second nature. It’s a choice I make every day.
So I try not to cram my weekends full of must-dos. I light candles, put on soft music, and let myself breathe. If I miss a blog post or a deadline, it’s fine. If I eat two slices of Date and Walnut Slice because it tastes good and I’m feeling a little fragile, that’s fine too. Gentle living is about giving myself the space to feel things, to rest, and to enjoy little moments. Even if those moments involve sticky fingers and cake crumbs.
I still have days where I push too hard or fall back into old patterns, but I’m getting better at recognising them. At pausing. At reminding myself that progress isn’t linear and growth doesn’t always look productive. Sometimes it looks like a quiet morning with a cup of tea and something sweet on the plate. Sometimes it looks like forgiving yourself for not doing everything. And sometimes, it looks like cake.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the mixture need to stand for 30 minutes before baking? The standing time is what gives this slice its characteristic moist, sticky texture. The boiling water softens the dates until they’re almost jammy, the butter melts completely into the liquid, and the bicarbonate of soda starts working on the dates to break them down further. Skipping or rushing this step means the dates won’t soften properly and the butter won’t incorporate evenly, which affects both the texture and the structure of the finished slice.
Why does bicarbonate of soda go in with the dates rather than with the flour? It’s doing two jobs here. The first is softening the dates as they stand in the boiling water, which is a chemical reaction that breaks down the cell structure and makes them jammy rather than chewy. The second is acting as a leavening agent when it later comes into contact with the acidic brown sugar during mixing. Adding it with the dates at the start means it gets to do both jobs rather than just one.
When is the slice ready? A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean with no wet batter on it. Check at the twenty-five minute mark because ovens vary and this slice can go from perfectly done to overdone relatively quickly. Let it cool fully in the tin before cutting because it firms up significantly as it cools and clean slices are much easier to achieve from a fully cooled bake.
Ingredient breakdown
Pitted dates
Roughly chopped rather than finely diced, which gives you sticky, jammy pockets of date distributed through the slice rather than a uniform texture throughout. The rough chop also means they hold some of their character after softening rather than dissolving completely into the batter. They go into the bowl with the butter, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and boiling water for the thirty-minute stand, which transforms them from firm and chewy to soft and almost caramel-like before anything else goes in.
Salted butter
Cubed and added to the bowl with the dates and boiling water, where it melts completely into the liquid during the thirty-minute stand rather than being creamed separately. This method gives the slice a denser, moister texture than a standard creamed butter cake and is characteristic of old-fashioned slice recipes like this one. Use good quality salted butter because the salt in the butter also seasons the bake.
Bicarbonate of soda
Added with the dates and boiling water at the very start, where it does two jobs simultaneously. It chemically softens the dates during the standing time and acts as a leavening agent once it comes into contact with the acidic brown sugar during mixing. Don’t be tempted to move it to the flour stage because it won’t have the opportunity to soften the dates if it goes in later.
Maldon sea salt flakes
A small amount added with the dates and butter that seasons the whole slice from the start. The salt balances the sweetness of the dates and brown sugar and brings all the flavours into focus. The salted butter is also contributing saltiness so the combination is intentional rather than excessive.
Brown sugar
Stirred through after the standing time, adding a deep, molasses-rich sweetness that white sugar wouldn’t provide in the same way. Brown sugar suits dates and walnuts particularly well because the flavours are complementary rather than competing, and it also contributes to the slightly sticky, dense texture that makes this slice so satisfying.
Eggs
Two large eggs added with the brown sugar, spice, and vanilla, which provide structure, bind the batter together, and contribute to the moist, slightly fudgy texture of the finished slice. Beat them in thoroughly before the flour goes in.
Mixed spice and vanilla extract
Small amounts of both, added with the eggs and sugar. Mixed spice adds a warm, slightly aromatic background note that suits the dates and walnuts without making the slice taste distinctly spiced. Vanilla extract rounds out the sweetness and adds a depth that lifts the whole flavour profile.
Baking powder and self-raising flour
Self-raising flour already contains a leavening agent, and the additional baking powder gives the slice a little extra lift to counterbalance the density of the dates and walnuts. Mix until just combined with no streaks of flour remaining and stop there. Overmixing develops the gluten and makes the slice tough rather than tender.
Walnuts
Roughly chopped and folded through gently at the very end, which distributes them evenly without breaking them down into dust. The rough chop gives you pieces with some substance that add crunch and a slightly bitter, nutty contrast to the sweetness of the dates and brown sugar. Fold rather than stir so they stay intact.
