Filling, crumbly, rich and unctuous, this traybake is delicious. A hint of orange and chocolate chunks give additional flavour and take the traditional date slice to new levels. Just what you need for a delicious fuelling stop when adventuring in the great outdoors.
100gmilk chocolateroughly chopped (I used Green & Black's 35%)
Instructions
Simmer the dates, orange juice and water in a pan for ten minutes until soft. Leave to cool.
375 g dates, 1 orange, 100 ml water
Roast the hazelnuts for ten minutes at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) , then rub off their skins with a kitchen paper or a clean tea towel and roughly chop. Omit this step if you have ready roasted and skinned hazelnuts.
75 g hazelnuts
Place the butter, flour, baking powder, cocoa, orange zest and sugar into a large bowl. Rub together between your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
1 orange, 125 g unsalted butter, 250 g wholemeal flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 125 g light muscovado sugar
Stir in the chocolate and hazelnuts.
100 g milk chocolate
Press two thirds of the mixture into the bottom of a 23 cm (9") sq silicone mould or lined baking tin until firm. The back of a spoon is good for this.
Spread the date mixture over the top in an even layer.
Stir a tbsp of water into the remaining third of the crumble to make the mixture clump up a little.
Spoon over the date layer.
Bake at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for 30 minutes.
Leave to cool then cut into 16 squares.
Notes
This recipe produces large square bars that are quite shallow, which is how I like them. For smaller, but deeper bars, bake in a 20 cm (8 inch) tin.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.