Hello Bakers,
Here is the companion recipe to today's episode. The only chemical leavener in this recipe is baking soda. It is just three quarters of a teaspoon and the lemon juice in the recipe activates it, helping our muffins rise nice and high.
This is an unusual recipe for muffin recipe. Most muffin recipes have baking powder in them and maybe a little baking soda. But not this one. Date Nut bread is not as popular as it once was. In the days of tearooms, date nut bread spread with cream cheese was a regular menu item.
It is so delicious. To give it an update, I have turned it into a muffin rather then a bread. It's probably better this way because when made into a loaf, it is nearly impossible to eat one slice and if you start with the cream cheese forget it.
Easy too and relatively quick. I used my Texas sized muffin pan but a regular muffin pan will work just fine. A mini loaf snack pan is another option. These freeze well too.
The prize for the first posted photo of the muffins will win a standard muffin scoop! Yay. We have had three winners in the baking contests already. Congratulations to our bakers. So far I have sent prizes to Ohio, New York and Singapore.
Happy Baking! Colette
Equipment: 12 cup muffin pan, 6 cup muffin pan, liners, or mini loaf snack pan, well greased, saucepan, scale, sifter, spatula, scoop
Dut Nut Muffin Mise en Place
Don't forget the lemon juice...(like I did in the mise en place photo)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces water (227g)
- 6 ounces (170g) dates, pitted and chopped, medium fine
- 5 ounces brown sugar (142g)
- 3 ounces (85g) butter, cut up
- 1 ounce (28g) honey
- 1/2 ounce (15g) (1 Tablespoon) lemon juice
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 9 ounces (255g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces (85g) toasted, chopped walnuts
- Pinch cinnamon and nutmeg
Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top before baking (optional)
- Bring water to a boil in saucepan, remove from heat.
- Add dates, brown sugar, honey, lemon juice, butter and vanilla. Stir until butter is melted.
- Let sit for 15 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. (you can whisk the egg with a fork before adding it to the date mixture.)
- Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Pour the date mixture into a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients. Mix halfway, add walnuts and mix only until combined.
- Scoop into prepared muffin tins and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. The muffins are done when a cake tester or skewer in the center comes out clean.
Here is what the wet mixture should look like...give it a stir before you add the dry ingredients.