Photo: Canned Orange Date Nut Bread Recipe
My mother loved this bread a sliver at a time with tea in the evenings. You could make one big cake in a one-pound coffee can but I like making three because then you have one to serve, one to freeze and one to give as a gift. You could also use your favorite quick bread recipe and bake it this way or even in a Ball jar. I know a woman from Canton, Ohio, Elizabeth Kisch, who won first place in a cake contest I judged, and she made her family's holiday chocolate toffee cake. One year her husband had to be out of town during the holidays, so she baked the cake in Ball jars, threw the lids on while it was still warm to sterilize them and then tucked them into her husband's suitcase — a surprise when he got to the other end.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pitted dates, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 orange, zested
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup orange juice
- Equipment: 3 empty (14-ounce) cans (like leftover bean cans), open on one end, and greased and floured
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl mix together the dates, pecans, and orange zest; then toss with 2 tablespoons of flour to coat.
In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to mix; then add the egg and mix until incorporated. Working in 3 batches, alternately add the flour mixture and orange juice, mixing well after each
addition. Stir in the flour-coated nut mixture.
Spoon the batter into the cans, filling them 3/4 full. Transfer the cans to a sheet pan and bake until puffed, golden brown, and firm, about 50 minutes. Let the bread cool in the cans for 5 minutes before unmolding, or let them cool completely in the cans and wrap as a gift.
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By breaklady44
Nashville TN
on December 13, 2012
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This was a big hit with the entire family - even those not crazy about citrus ANYTHING.
By OLEF641
Los Angeles, CA
on November 09, 2011
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Here's a suggestion:
A reason breads might not come out is not being baked quite enough. They should be just starting to pull away from the sides of the "pan".
Another suggestion:
After greasing the cans, lIne them with parchment paper. Cut a circle for the bottom, then a strip for the side. You want the circle a little bit large so it extends up the sides a tiny bit, then roll up the strip and put it in. The paper should overlap a little where the sides meet the bottom.
In the interest of full disclosure: I have not actually made this recipe. But, when I was a child, more years ago than I care to own up to, we used to buy canned date nut and brown bread, and I seem to remember that the can was usually lined with paper.
Also, to keep from messing up the star rating, I gave the same as the average at the time I rated it.
By covmouse_7277521
Coventry, RI
on February 23, 2007
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I followed this recipe to the letter, but I had a hard time trying to get them out of the cans. I loosened them with a knife, but they still wouldn't give. One of the three came out whole, with a lot of coaxing. I also found them to be very sweet, the dates do take over. Perhaps using less sugar might help. The cans I used were not made so they could be opened from either end. If they were, that might have helped.
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