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A tray bake covered with a soft butterscotch icing.

Ingredients

Cake

• 8 oz chopped dates

• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 3 oz butter

• 8 oz sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• 10 oz plain flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

Icing

• 2 ½ tablespoons demerara sugar

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 tablespoon cream

• Chopped walnuts for decoration

Method

1. Set oven to 350 Fahrenheit or mark four. Greece and line a 12-inch by 9-inch baking tin. Pour one breakfast cup of boiling water over 8 ounces of chopped dates and add 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Let this stand while mixing the main ingredients. Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the beaten eggs and stir in the vanilla essence. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the date mixture to the cake mixture and mix well. Put into the tin, spread out and bake for 40 minutes. When cooked cover with icing. Leave to cool, then turn out and cut into squares or slices.

2. Icing: Mix the ingredients in a saucepan. Heat gently to bring to the boil, and boil for three minutes stirring occasionally continuously. Allowed to call a little and pour evenly over the cake period to finish, scatter with chopped walnuts.

Courtesy of “Favourite Farmhouse Recipes”, compiled by Carole Gregory and published by J. Salmon Ltd.