Date & Raisin Squares

 

I confess one of my favourite things is Date Squares. My mother always made us Date Squares at Christmas! They were a once a year treat! 

My father loves raisin pie.  This delicious recipe for Date & Raisin Squares combines both of those loves into one delicious, buttery, crumbly, fruit filled bar!

 

I love these tea cups of my mother's. They have only ever rarely been used. I am not sure what the patten is. There are no real markings on the bottom of the cups/saucers. I tend to think that my mother collected them from washing powder, but I could be wrong. 

The pink rose buds on the side of the cups are very dainty and pretty. I remember my mother using them very occasionally when she had some friends over for tea, which was not very often. Mom wasn't the entertaining kind really.

 

She was an immaculate housekeeper and I think she just felt that she didn't have the time. I know she was never one for having people over for coffee or for going there. She wanted company when she wanted company.  I get that.

I like to entertain, but I also like it mostly on my own terms. I can remember when I lived in Calgary, my next door neighbor would land on my doorstep at about 8 in the morning and she would stay all day.  I didn't know how to get her to go home. Not really my cup of tea, that kind of life.

 

I could never do that to anyone myself.  People's time is precious to them, and I think that stopping at someone's all day without being invited is a huge imposition.  Tell me I'm not wrong in thinking that! 

I hate to think I am the only one who feels that way.  I hope I am not anti-social. I am just a person who likes to choose when I have or don't have company.

 

This recipe comes from a cookery book entitled Classic Canadian Cookery, by Elizabeth Baird. I have had my copy for  a very long time. Its not a large book and I managed to slip it into my suitcase when I came back to Canada.

Its a great little book. I purchased mine used a number of years ago, but I also remember taking it out of the library when I was really young and copying some of the recipes out of it into a notebook.

It contains 300 + recipes.  They are largely based on the fresh ingredients we have available here in Canada, and it is also seasonal in nature.

Its marked into sections, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. I love seasonal cooking. I had quite a few seasonal cookbooks in my collection. Oh how I am missing my cookbooks.

 I apologise in advance for my photos today. I had to cut the square a bit before I should have done. Ideally you should wait until they are quite cold. I would even leave them to set overnight bfore cutting them for the best presentation.

But I was running out of light and I pride myself on presenting new content to you most days.  So in my eagerness, I did cut into them a bit sooner than I should have done.

 These are fabulous, presenting to the lucky imbiber, the best of both worlds.  You get the incredibly short and buttery sweet and oaty crust.

Like a buttery, brown sugar oat cookie.  Crumbly, sweet . . .  buttery and  moreishly tasty.

 The filling is magnificent.  Sweet and sticky.  Caramel flavoured from the dates, almost sticky toffee-puddingish . . . 

Then that stick toffee richness is studded with plump sweet raisins. I do so love raisins.  Especially in baking.  Dates too!

The filling is flavoured with a bit of freshly grated nutmeg and some freshly grated lemon zest. Oh how I miss my microplane  . . . 

There is also lemon juice in the filling which helps to cut some of the sweetness.  Lemon and raisins go very well together.  So do lemon and dates.

 

It is absolutely beautiful sandwiched between that beautiful crumbly, buttery crust. Incredibly delicious I would say.

I can see squares of this served warm with scoops of vanilla ice cream on top . . . the warmth of the square causing the ice cream to melt and run down in little sweet rivers of lushness, into the nooks and crannies.

 You can cut it into small squares when cold and serve it with lovely hot cups of tea. It would be beautiful on a tea table for the ladies.  I did so love giving tea parties. 

I wonder will I ever be able to give them again.  I left all of my china and stuff behind in the UK, the beautiful antique china tiered servers for sweets and sandwiches. My trays. Must not think about it.

Life just isn't fair sometimes. But we have to deal with it and count our blessings where we find them. I am grateful that I had the time to use them while I did, and I hope that they are now likewise serving someone else in much the same way. 

And that they find joy in their use.  That thought brings me a small measure of comfort. It really does.

I feel like I really need to change the focus of my blog now that I am back in Canada. I have worked so hard to make The English Kitchen a place of comfort and of good food.  But the original focus was on presenting "British Cookery" in a way that people could enjoy and understand it.

I know I can still do the same thing, but I am just wondering how I can do it without people thinking I am a charlatan. Misrepresenting things.

 

It would be incredibly sad to me however to lose what I have worked so hard to build. Not after I have already lost everything else.  I will need to come to some compromise between the two and then hope that my faithful readers don't desert me.

I have my thinking cap on.  I know that the book I had written and was waiting for publication I am going to shelve now. It hardly seems credible to present a book that was based on 20 years of lies without completely re-writing it and I don't think I have the heart to do it at the moment.

In the meantime, lets eat some delicious buttery,crumbly, oaty, sweet fruity squares.

Date & Raisins Squares

Yield: Makes one 9-inch square cake, ready to cut into squares

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 1 H & 15 Mcook time: 45 Mintotal time: 2 Hour

A little bit different than the usual Date Square in that the filling also includes sticky sweet raisins. With its lush filling and that buttery oatmeal crumb crust this always goes down a real treat.

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 1 1/2 cup (230g) chopped dates
• 1 1/2 cups (230g)raisins
• 1/3 cup (60g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups (355ml) boiling water

For the crumb mixture:

• 3/4 cup (180g) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (165g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1 cup (240g) sifted all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups (201g) rolled oats

Instructions

1. Make the filling first. (I sometimes make it the night before as it needs to be cold to add to the crumb crust.)
2. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixure is thick and all of the liquid has been absorbed.  Set aside to cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square baking dish. Line with some baking paper so that you can lift the baked squares out easily.
4. Cream the butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in the sugar and the vanilla. 
5. Sift the flour, soda and salt ogether and combine with the oats. Mix into the beaten  mixture to form big crumbs.  Press half into the bottom of the dish.  Spread with the cooled fruit mixture. Crumble the remaining crumbs over top.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and set. Let cool. Cut into squares to serve.

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