Preparation

• 1
  1. Chop the dates into small pieces and place in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda. Pour the boiling water over it, stir and set aside to cool.
• 2
  2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees, 150 degrees fan oven. Lightly grease a loaf tin and line with baking parchment.
• 3
  3. Put the sugar into a large bowl, cut the butter into small pieces and add to the sugar. Beat them together well. Next whisk the egg and beat that into the mixture, then stir in the vanilla extract.
• 4
  4. Weigh out the flour and sprinkle the salt into it. Sieve some of the flour into the sugar mixture and stir with a metal spoon until it is combined, then add a spoonful of the cooled dates and mix well. Keep adding the flour and the dates alternately until everything is well combined. Pour into the prepared loaf tin, shake gently to ensure that it is level, and bake for about an hour or until the centre of the cake is cooked through.
• 5
  5. Allow to cool for a while before peeling off the baking parchment. Store in an airtight container.