Walnut, Date and Honey Cake

4.25 (105)
⏱ 85 mins 🍽 Cuts into 8-10 slices 🌶 british ✅ Easy 🏷 Afternoon tea

This British cake is a delightful tea-time treat, rich with the flavour of honey. It cleverly incorporates ripe bananas for natural sweetness and moisture, along with chopped dates and walnut pieces for texture. The recipe yields a moist, fragrant loaf that is ideal for sharing, cutting into 8-10 generous slices. It's a wonderful choice for an afternoon tea spread or a buffet table.

Walnut, Date and Honey Cake

Ingredients

  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 175g softened butter
  • 100g light muscovado sugar
  • 3 tbsp clear honey
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 medium, ripe bananas about 250g/9oz total weight in their skins
  • 100g stoned dates
  • 50g pack walnut pieces

Method

  1. Heat your oven to 160C/Gas 3/fan oven 140C. Prepare a 900g/2lb loaf tin by lining the base and long sides with greaseproof paper, then butter both the tin and the paper.
  2. Place the self-raising flour, cinnamon, softened butter, light muscovado sugar, 2 tablespoons of the clear honey and the beaten eggs into a large bowl. Mash the bananas and chop the dates before adding them to the bowl. Beat everything together for 2-3 minutes until thoroughly combined.
  3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Sprinkle the walnut pieces evenly over the top. Bake for 1 hour, then test by pressing the top lightly. it should feel firm. If needed, bake for a further 10 minutes.
  4. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before using the paper to lift it out. Once completely cold, drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of honey over the top. Slice thickly to serve.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories440 kcal
Fat24 g
Saturates13 g
Carbs54 g
Sugars25 g
Fibre2 g
Protein6 g
Sodium280 mg

Recipe details

Skill levelEasy
CategoryAfternoon tea
Cuisinebritish