Vintage Kitchen logo

Last modified: · by: · Published on

Date and Walnut Loaf

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
A wonderful loaf cake, fragrant, sweet and old-fashioned. Dates and walnuts combine with brown butter (yes!) and brown sugar to fill your kitchen with the most wonderful aroma!
Half date loaf in metal pan on wooden table

You say quick bread, I say loaf cake. Both work.

And what definitely works too are the flavors. The sweetness of dates, one of my favorite things in the world, with toasted pecans and brown sugar.

Close-up of ots of medjool dates

About Medjool dates.

Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree, are native to the Middle East and they date (pun intended?) way back in history, I mean thousands of years.

They are usually dried, brown and wrinkled and not very appealing when you haven’t tried them. But a bite reveals a sweet, soft flesh, unlike any other flavor, with some smoky undertones. It reminds me of maple syrup sometimes, which has that hard-to-explain flavor.

My favorite kind is Mejdool (image above) which are large, soft, fleshy and just plain wonderful.

Two slices of date loaf on napkins, wooden table

And brown butter. It deserves its own sentence.

Who can argue with the nutty flavor of butter that is left to sizzle and toast? Not me, that’s for sure. I don’t understand why brown butter is not sold by the pound.

White bowl with brown butter

What is brown butter you might ask?

The short version is what the name implies: butter that is browned.

Unsalted butter that is heated or cooked long enough for the water (yes, butter has water in it, sometimes a lot) to evaporate.
This leaves behind the solids that start to brown, turning golden or amber in color with a wonderful nutty aroma.

The result is a butter with a deep nutty vanilla flavor unlike anything else. Truly worth making even though it’s an extra step.

Two slices of date loaf on napkins, wooden table, metal pan with half loaf, bread knife

This is the kind of thing you bake if your mother in law is coming over for tea. Or to take on a road trip. Or to have lying around in the kitchen for that afternoon cup of coffee.

For me, there’s no better way to eat this brown butter date and walnut loaf than toasted. All the smoky goodness of the nutty butter, Medjool dates and brown sugar intensify. And that’s good. And there’s a subtle wonderful aroma filling the kitchen.

And a slice of brown butter date and pecan loaf puts a smile on my face.

Two slices of date loaf on a wooden table

Other recipes you might like:
Let me know if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it.
Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
.
Print
Half date loaf in metal pan on wooden table

Date and Walnut Loaf

  • Author: Paula Montenegro
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 50
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Category: Cakes
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: International
Print

Description

A wonderful loaf cake, fragrant, sweet and old-fashioned. Dates and walnuts combine with brown butter (yes!) and brown sugar to fill your kitchen with the most wonderful aroma!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 5 Tbs (75g) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room t°
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • 1 Tbs light molasses (optional)
  • 1 ¾ cup (235g) all-purpose or cake flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • A few grindings of fresh nutmeg
  • ¾ cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
  • 5 oz. (about 8 pieces) medjool dates, pitted and cut into chunks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the brown butter:

  1. I a small saucepan melt the butter.
  2. Let it bubble and foam, until it starts turning a deep amber color, similar to caramel.
  3. This will take about 4 or 5 minutes. Don’t let it burn.
  4. Transfer to a small bowl and freeze for about 30 minutes, until solid but not rock-hard.

For the loaf cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Grease a non-stick 8×4-inch loaf pan. Or line the bottom with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, beat brown butter with sugar until very creamy, about 3 minutes.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add molasses if using.
  5. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  6. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Add the vanilla.
  7. Finally, add the dates and pecans with a spatula and mix well. It may look somewhat curdled, it’s fine.
  8. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth top.
  9. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a tester comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.
  10. Unmold and keep, well wrapped, at room tº for a few days, or freeze for a few months.

Notes

Keywords: date loaf, date walnut cake

Paula Montenegro

A baker for more than 30 years, I love testing recipes and sharing the best of what I find. I'm mostly self-taught with some time spent in baking school. I believe we can all be bakers and cooks with the right instructions and simple ingredients. If you're craving easy recipes with amazing results, you're in the right place. Let's get into the kitchen!

Subscribe to our new posts!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Cocoa and Lavender says

    July 6, 2013 at 21:44

    I love anything with dates. And have actually been searching for the perfect bread. The last one I tried was so awful, I threw it out… and I NEVER throw out food. I bet if I had left it outside, the mice wouldn't even have touched it. Can't wait to try this – on to check out Nancy's blog! ~ David

    Reply

  3. Kathy says

    July 6, 2013 at 12:04

    A wonderfully delicious looking bread! Browned butter adds such depth and nuttiness to recipes. Would love to have a slice of this it right now with my tea! Have a great day, Paula!

    Reply

  4. mividaenundulce says

    July 6, 2013 at 01:28

    Qué rico…!!! I will this one to my favorites. Dates are not pretty common here, but time to time we can find in the markets.

    Reply

  5. Laura Dembowski says

    July 5, 2013 at 12:40

    This loaf looks awesome, Paula! So moist and full of pecans and dates, two of my favorite ingredients.

    Reply

  7. Renee says

    July 4, 2013 at 12:21

    Heading over to Gotta Get Baked to check out the recipe! I love it when my friends help each other out and there is an awesome recipe involved too.

    Reply

  8. thelittleloaf says

    July 4, 2013 at 08:46

    Too delicious!I love dates and combined with brown butter in a loaf I can imagine this is sheer heaven.

    Reply

  9. e / dig in says

    July 4, 2013 at 06:20

    this looks like my kind of cake! wholesome and healthy but wonderfully delicious. i love dates in baking, and combined with pecans … it can only be a good thing. thank you for sharing this with us paula.

    Reply

  10. Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says

    July 4, 2013 at 05:38

    I love the sound of this loaf Paula. Brown butter? YUM! Dates? YUM! Pecan? YUM! 🙂 Heading over to check out the recipe…

    Reply

  14. Ninja Baker says

    July 4, 2013 at 04:11

    Mmm. Dates baked with brown sugar remind me of my grandmother, Nona's cookie recipes. So I imagine dates and brown sugar in bread with pecans will be great! You can bet I'm heading on over to Gotta Get Baked =)

    Reply

  15. Deb says

    July 3, 2013 at 23:27

    My mom loved dates! She would stuff them with cream cheese to take to pot lucks and church meetings. The Brown Butter and Pecan Loaf would make an enchanting breakfast! And a swipe of cream cheese would be divine!

    Reply

  16. Marysue says

    July 3, 2013 at 22:25

    When I was a little girl, my grandmother would treat me with a piece of date-nut bread with some cream cheese on it. I know it was from a can (but it was SOOO good), but it this sort of the same thing?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

shares