Breakfast in our house follows much the same pattern for us all. It consists of cereal and toast. Very predictable I know. This is all down to the time constraints of getting me and my 3 children out of the house by exactly 8.25. Not too early, I agree. But, no matter what time I get up and how prepared I am, time always runs out. It’s always the shoes, hair and jackets that do it. And the remembering of water bottles and signing homework diaries. I have a habit of leaving everything to the last minute and this is very unlikely to change.
There are days when we all get up ten minutes later than usual and this often leaves no room for any kind of dawdling. If I happened to have run out of a favourite cereal and the back up cereals simply won’t do then it does mean we are relying on toast and juice. I would love to say I then cook up a pan of porridge which all the children love. Filling and nutritious with long lasting energy that can see them through until lunchtime. It just takes up too much time, even if it can be microwaved. It’s the cooling down period that does it.
But, I do always have bags of oats in the house. Flapjacks, granola, oaty cookies and crumble toppings are some of our favourites so I keep a bag of regular and jumbo oats in the cupboard for these regular bakes of ours.
Flora got in touch and asked me if I could come up with a recipe using one of their products and this is when I came up with the idea of a sweet and oaty breakfast loaf. A loaf that replaces those slices of toast we all love. Yes, I do make my own bread but I do also run out of it and don’t often have a sliced loaf to rely on to pull out of the freezer. This pecan breakfast loaf made with oats, spices and dates is an extremely delicious way to start the day.
You could slice it up and pull out as many pieces as you need from the freezer or you could keep it wrapped up well, leave it in the fridge and it would stay fresh for up to a week. I used FLORA CUISINE in this recipe and it makes for a light and delicate crumb that actually did surprise me. I went on to use it in another loaf bake and that worked well. It looks like a liquid butter and you keep it in the fridge and I must admit I had my reservations about how it would work in a sweet recipe, but it lends itself to a light bake. My oat, date and pecan breakfast loaf is proof of that, I hope you will give it a try.
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Disclosure: I was commissioned by Flora to develop this recipe. I received compensation for writing this post. All photography is my own.
Oat, Date & Pecan Breakfast Loaf
Ingredients
- 100 g Oats
- 190 g Plain flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- A pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp Mixed spice
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 180 ml Buttermilk
- 2 Large eggs
- 110 g Margarine
- 120 g Light muscovado sugar
- 150 g Pitted dates chopped
- 50 g Pecan nuts roughly chopped
Instructions
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Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees then grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment,
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Place all the ingredients (apart from the dates, pecans & 2tbsp of the flour) into a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a food mixer/food processor and mix together until well combined,
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Combine the dates and pecans with the 2tbsp of flour in a small mixing bowl as this will prevent the fruit and nuts from sinking in the cake,
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Stir and fold the date and nut mixture into the loose cake batter then pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin,
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Bake in the oven for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Recipe Notes
This cakes makes the perfect breakfast on the go. It is delicious sliced and topped with butter. Even better if enjoyed with a banana smoothie!
Hi Laura, I’m so glad you posted this recipe as my toddler and I had something like this from our favourite bakery and we loved it. Will try it at home home now to enjoy te mellow sweetness, moist rise and light crunch x
I am impressed your toddler likes cakes with dates and nuts, my daughter loves it too. It makes a welcome change from banana bread which we always make 🙂
What a scrumptious sounding loaf, dates and pecans work so well together, and the oats are a super touch. Breakfast in one slice, fabulous.
Thanks Jude, it would be lovely with a pot of coffee and lots of butter on top and the dates help it to last longer than a traditional sponge 🙂
I too follow the exact same pattern for breakfast- Shreddies, Weetabix or toast during the week. It’s the weekend when breakfast gets way more exciting and we enjoy brunch out most weekends. This loaf would be a huge hit on the menu if our favourite brunch places!
What a good idea! Always nice to be reminded that breakfast can be creative!! Lovely ingredients and great looking loaf x
Gorgeous photos Laura! I love the sound of this, I make a similar thing and it’s perfect for breakfast.
That loaf looks absolutely amazing. I have been too tired to do any baking recently and I do miss it. This would be a good place to start again.
Looks very inviting Laura and a fabulous treat for brekky. My boys are ravenous in the morning and dippy eggs are their current fave!
I’m impressed you make eggs in the morning. I can just manage cereal!
I have to make this – I seem to be into all things that include dates at the moment. This looks lovely.
I love dates, any excuse to add them to a recipe is good!
A lovely loaf and a great recipe for Flora. I have to be out of the house at the same time, too!
Oh yes Ren, too many things to think of first thing in the morning!
Delicious Laura.
I am with you I really wish I did not leave everything to the last minute, but sadly I do.