Quick Orange, Date and Walnut Loaf

I love a loaf with some fresh citrusy and fun flavours that I can just eat as is without having to slather something on it.

This recipe is so simple to throw together – for starters, a whole orange (with the peel on!) along with orange juice, egg and oil are mixed in your blender. How easy is that!!!

The dry ingredients are also just put together in the blender except for the dates and walnuts as we want them as yummy bits in the loaf and hence are added and mixed in at the end.

Dates are like natures candy; they add a beautiful sweetness to the tanginess of the orange. I prefer to chop the dates and not use pre-chopped dates as they can be quite dry.

The orange flavour really comes through and the combination is so good.

You can substitute the sugar with honey or maple syrup but will have to reduce the amount of orange juice to compensate for the liquid so that the batter is not too runny.

The walnuts add an amazing crunch and bite to the loaf.

A slice of this goodness can be had for breakfast or along with a cup of tea for a snack.

So, let’s get right to it.

Ingredients

Orange – 1 Whole

Orange Juice – ½ cup

Vegetable oil – ½ cup

Eggs – 2

Plain Flour – 1 ½ cup

Bicarbonate Soda – 1 teaspoon

Baking Powder – 1 teaspoon

Sugar – ½ cup

Chopped Walnuts – ½ cup

Chopped dates – ½ cup

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and keep ready.
Roughly chop the orange (no need to peel) and remove the seeds, leaving the rind.
Place chopped orange and orange juice in a food processor and process until finely chopped.
Add the eggs, oil and pulse.
Combine flour, baking powder and the bicarbonate soda, sugar and add it to the food processor, process until all is combined well.
Pour the batter from the processor into a bowl and mix in the chopped walnuts and chopped dates and stir till mixed through.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes, until browned and a cake tester when inserted comes clean.