Date and Walnut Roll

Date and walnut roll
• 1 cup (140g) chopped dates
• 1 cup (220g) brown sugar, firmly packed
• 60 gram butter, plus extra to serve
• 1 cup water
• 2 cup (300g) self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 cup (55g) walnuts, chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
Method

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan. Grease two 8cm x 17cm nut roll pans.

Combine dates, sugar, butter and water in a small saucepan. Stir on low heat for 1-2 minutes, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil, then remove from heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Sift flour into a large bowl with bicarbonate of soda and stir in date mixture, walnuts and egg. Divide mixture between prepared pans, until half full. Cover with lids.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, standing upright. Remove pans from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before removing lids Turn rolls out onto a wire rack to cool. Slice and spread with butter to serve.

Tip 1: Grease well

Nut roll tins need to be greased well, preferably with melted butter, and don't forget to grease the inside of the lids. Sometimes the top lids will have a hole in them to let steam escape, but it doesn't seem to matter much whether they do or not.

Tip 2: Fill the tin half-way

It's important to know that nut roll tins should only be half-filled with mixture so the cake won't force the top lid off or simply get squashed by the lid during baking.

Tip 3: Bake upright

Stand the tin upright on an oven tray – it will be easier to get it in and out of the oven that way. Rearrange the oven racks to accommodate the height of the tins before you preheat the oven. You will need to leave about 5cm of space all around each tin to allow the heat of the oven to circulate properly and cook the nut rolls through.

Tip 4: Getting the nut roll out of the tin

Old-style tins opened down the side and were easy to handle, but the new tins are closed-in cake cylinders so they can be a bit tricky.

After the rolls are cooked – which will be somewhere between 50 and 60 minutes – let them stand upright for 5 minutes.

Remove the lids and use both hands to hold the tin in a tea towel and shake gently until you feel the loaf free itself from the sides. Gently let the loaf slide out and onto a wire rack to cool.

Tips for Roll Tin: 

Tip 1: Grease well
Nut roll tins need to be greased well, preferably with melted butter, and don't forget to grease the inside of the lids. Sometimes the top lids will have a hole in them to let steam escape, but it doesn't seem to matter much whether they do or not.
Tip 2: Fill the tin half-way
It's important to know that nut roll tins should only be half-filled with mixture so the cake won't force the top lid off or simply get squashed by the lid during baking.
Tip 3: Bake upright
Stand the tin upright on an oven tray – it will be easier to get it in and out of the oven that way. Rearrange the oven racks to accommodate the height of the tins before you preheat the oven. You will need to leave about 5cm of space all around each tin to allow the heat of the oven to circulate properly and cook the nut rolls through.
Tip 4: Getting the nut roll out of the tin
Old-style tins opened down the side and were easy to handle, but the new tins are closed-in cake cylinders so they can be a bit tricky.
After the rolls are cooked – which will be somewhere between 50 and 60 minutes – let them stand upright for 5 minutes.
Remove the lids and use both hands to hold the tin in a tea towel and shake gently until you feel the loaf free itself from the sides. Gently let the loaf slide out and onto a wire rack to cool.