Date and Walnut Teabread

Ingredients.

175 grams dates, roughly chopped (not sugar rolled)

125 grams raisins

150 ml hot, strong but not stewed tea

125 grams vegan marg, allowed to soften, but not melted

50 grams chopped walnuts

125 grams muscavado sugar (either dark or light)

225 grams of plain flour

150 ml soya milk

1 teaspoon (5mls) baking powder

1 teaspoon (5mls) bicarbonate of soda

Optional: 1 teaspoon (5mls) of ground cinamon, 1/2 teaspoon (2.5mls) ground nutmeg

Soak the dates and raisins in the tea for at least one hour but up to 8. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat together, an electric mixer is easiest but not a food processor as you lose all the texture. When thoroughly mixed pour into a lined 2lb loaf tin (sorry don't know the metric measurements!) loaf tin and bake for about 1 and 1/4 hours at gas mark 4 or 350 f. Check after an hour and cover with foil if browning. It is done when a skewer or piece of uncooked spaghetti stuck in the middle comes out clean. Leave to go completely cold in tin.

Can be eaten at once but is even better if wrapped in foil and stored in a tin for up to one week. It is surprisingly tasty without the spices but nice with them too. This works with wholemeal flour but will give a dense loaf, our preference is half and half.