Michelle Darmody: How to make date slices — and the mistakes to avoid

Michelle Darmody's date slices.

One of the nicest things I have made recently is probably too simple to include as a recipe on its own. 

I took the stone from a Medjool date, filled the indent with peanut butter, one with a little salt such as Harry’s Peanut butter works very well, then dipped the stuffed date in melted dark chocolate. 

After coating the date completely in chocolate, I left it to firm up. It was delicious, rich and decadent.

This got me thinking of the many uses of Medjool dates. One of the most reliable and handy to know recipes is a date slice which uses chopped up dates simmered to a paste. 

They make a great picnic snack, or with the addition of a touch of ground ginger they transform into a warming rainy-day treat.

The smell of toasting oats is one of the nicest things about this recipe. I think I like the smell of the oats toasting as much as I like the eating. 

It is also nice to engage children when making this recipe, they can weigh and stir and mix as much as they like without doing too much damage to the end result, and there is a relatively nutritious list of ingredients.

Date Slices

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

"The smell of toasting oats is one of the nicest things about this recipe. I think I like the smell of the oats toasting as much as I like the eating."

Servings

9

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 260g Medjool dates, stones removed and chopped

• 330ml water

• 175g plain flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 150g light brown sugar

• 100g porridge oats

• 1 pinch salt

• 175g cold butter diced

Method

1. Line a 9 x 9inch tin with parchment. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.

2. Put the chopped dates and water into a saucepan over a low heat and simmer for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick. Set aside to cool.

3. Sieve the flour and the baking powder into a large bowl and add the sugar, oats and salt. Mix well.

4. Add in the small cubes of butter and rub them in until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs.

5. Firmly press half of the mixture into your prepared baking tin.

6. Gently spread the date mixture on top.

7. Sprinkle the rest of the crumble onto the date mixture and very gently press it down.

8. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden on top.

9. Allow to cool in the tin, then slice into whatever number of pieces you like.

Bakers' tips

This is a pretty straightforward recipe, so the tips are more about perfecting it the way you like it. 

As with any fresh, natural ingredient the taste of the dates can vary depending on many factors, so it is worth doing a taste test on the date mixture before adding it to the crumble. 

If you find that your dates are a little too sweet you can add a half a teaspoon of lemon juice to help balance this sweetness. This small addition will make a real difference.

This recipe uses Medjool dates, but the same weight of any pitted dates will work.

Simmering the dates not only makes a spreadable paste, but it also breaks down any tough bits of skin on the dates and stops hard lumps in your slices.

Be sure to press down on the base layer firmly, this will provide structure when you cut your slices at the end. 

You want to make a nice crumble sandwich with three distinct layers, so it is good to be gentle when you are spreading the date mixture over the top of the base layer. 

A gently pat down of the final topping layer should suffice, you want this to be a little crumbly when baked.

For ease of cutting, you can mark the tray into slices while the date slices are still warm and fresh out of the oven. Then leave in the tin until cool before cutting with a clean sharp knife.

The date slices freeze really well. After they are sliced, place a layer of parchment between them and then put them in a freezer proof container. It is best to make sure they are fully cooled before freezing.

The slices will keep at room temperature for three or four days in an airtight container, or you can also keep them in the fridge for a day or two longer. 

Personally, I would allow them to come to room temperature before serving, I find they are not quite as tasty at fridge temperature.

3 delicious variations

Apple & date squares

Add 100g of chopped apple into the saucepan when heating the dates. Reduce the amount of water to 230ml to counteract the juice in the apples. 

I like using a cooking apple or another bitter variety as it adds a nice contrast to the sweetness to the dates.

Chocolate & ginger squares

Chocolate and ginger are one of my favourite combinations. I use dark chocolate chips for this recipe, but you can get a chocolate bar and roughly chop it into even sized pieces if you wish. 

Add two teaspoons of powdered ginger into the flour and baking powder before sieving. After you spread the date layer sprinkle the chocolate on top then add the next layer of crumble over it. Sprinkle another teaspoon of ginger on top if you like.

Cinnamon & orange date slices

A hint of cinnamon works beautifully with the dates. It is nice to add a level teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the flour mixture as well as the zest of two oranges. 

Then sprinkle ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of brown sugar over the top before baking.