Date and apple loaf recipe

This date and apple loaf is a moist, light loaf cake that's surprisingly low in fat. A perfect tea time treat that you can enjoy without feeling guilty! The dates and apple sauce replace a lot of the processed sugar so there's only 100g soft light brown sugar and there's no butter in this cake either which means there's only 0.5g saturated fat per portion. This is a great cake if you're trying to avoid sweet treats but want to treat yourself! Follow along in our simple step-by-step video recipe.

Ingredients

• 300g (10oz) self-raising flour
• 250g packet pitted dates, chopped
• 100g (3½oz) soft light brown sugar
• 1 level tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 270-285g jar apple sauce
• 2 medium eggs

1kg (2lb) loaf tin, either a silicone tin, or a standard tin buttered and lined with a sheet of baking parchment

Method

1. Set the oven to Gas Mark 3 or 160°C. Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the dates, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the apple sauce and eggs to the bowl and 5 tablespoons water. Stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and level the surface.
2. Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for about 1-1¼ hours, or until the loaf feels firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the loaf.
3. Remove from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for about 5-10 minutes, then turn it out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.