This is a vegan version of that wholefood cafe stalwart, the date square, or date slice, depending on how you choose to divide it up. Walnuts are included in this recipe as an optional extra for flavour, crunch and general wholesomeness.
Having tried several variations on the date filling, nothing beats the classic version with lemon, which balances the rich sweetness of the dates perfectly. This version includes both juice and zest for a tangy flavour.
In Canada, date square is also called ‘matrimonial cake’ – perhaps because it marries a date layer with an oat biscuit layer, or perhaps because it was thought fancy enough for a wedding to add a layer of dates to a simple oat shortcake – something like the ‘millionaire’ shortbread idea. Anyway, it’s also a long-standing favourite in Scotland.
This recipe uses 100% wholemeal flour and the topping is made super crumbly by adding walnuts. While it’s supposed to be crumbly, I’ve added just a tiny amount of maple syrup to help hold it together (more or less!) while cutting. If you’re not adding walnuts, the syrup probably isn’t essential.
Date Square…
Ingredients
for the date filling
- 240 g dried dates
- zest of a lemon and 2 tbsp juice
- 2 tbsp light muscovado or other sugar
for the oat crumble
- 140 g coconut oil
- 120 g light muscovado or other brown sugar
- 140 g plain wholemeal flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 120 g rolled oats
- 50 g walnuts
- 2-3 tsp maple syrup
Method
- Set the oven to 180°C/360°F and lightly oil and line the base of a square or rectangular tin. The pictured squares were baked in an 8″ square tin.
- Chop the dates into chunks roughly 1 cm across. Place them in a small pan and add the lemon zest, sugar and 100 ml of water. Gently cook this mixture down, stirring occasionally, until the dates are thick and sludgy. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside to cool.
- If the coconut is not already at warm room temperature, soften it a little in the microwave – it should be like spreadable margarine.
- In a large bowl, rub the coconut oil into the flour, baking soda and sugar using a pastry blender or a fork until it is well combined and there are no little lumps of coconut oil.
- Add the oats and blend further until they are evenly distributed. The mixture will be crumbly but it should more or less hold its shape when you press it together.
- Transfer half of the mixture to the baking tin, and press it down well with the back of a spoon to create a smooth, thin layer.
- Bake the base in the oven for 8-10 minutes then remove and set aside.
- While the base is baking, finely chop the walnuts and add these to the remaining crumb mixture along with 2 tsp of maple syrup. Mix and press this mixture with a fork until the syrup seems to be evenly distributed. If necessary, add a little more maple syrup and mix again. It should, as before, hold its shape when pressed but still be very crumbly rather than doughy.
- Spread the date mixture evenly across the base, and then crumble the remaining crumb mixture across the top. Press it down lightly with a spoon. If the surface looks too flattened, you can rough it up a bit with a fork.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for around 25 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown.
- Leave to cool completely before cutting into squares or slices.
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