Toffee and date tray bake

Name: Toffee and date tray bake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Makes: approx 8–10
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla essence; 200 g brown sugar; 200 g butter, at room temperature; 200 ml boiling water; 250 g pitted dates; 100 g chopped walnuts; 100 g icing sugar; 25 ml milk; ½ teaspoon instant coffee; 50 g brown sugar; 30 g butter; 75 ml milk; 200 g self raising flour

Preparation info

Makes: approx
8–10

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
45 min

Appears in

Lucy's Food

By Lucy Cufflin

Published 2013

About

We make a lot of traybakes for the Red Cross open gardens. They always sell really well as people can buy just for one or enough for a family. Here is one that is chewy, but cakey at the same time, and rich, but not sickly.

Ingredients

250 g pitted dates
200 ml boiling water
200 g

Dessert
Vegetarian

Method

Line the roasting tin with baking parchment. Put the pitted dates into a bowl and add the boiling water. Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes.
Blend the butter, sugar, vanilla essence, eggs, flour and milk until smooth (but do not over-mix).
Drain the dates and chop finely. Add to the cake mixture and stir in by hand.
Turn the mixture into