DATE SLICES

Memories of favourite childhood bakes come to mind when I make this traditional Cornish sweet pastry treat. Often made with left over pastry from pasties - or that is what my mother did. It was just wonderful with a dollop of clotted cream on the top, fetched from the farmer’s wife along the road from us. Just perfect.

There is no real recipe here. Just rough puff pastry and dates. I cannot give you quantities as it would depend on how many you want to bake. Lots of pics on my Blog.  But for the 8 slices in the photos x 2, I used:

8 oz plain flour

3 oz cookeen [I am into using this!!]

1 oz butter

very cold water to bind

Just roughly rub in the fat and bind with the water and lightly knead until smooth, then chill for half an hour.

Pre heat your fan oven to 200C 

Dates - these 8 slices used up a packet of chopped dates [200gr]. I tried to get an old fashioned block but my local Asda did not have any. In a dish, place the dates, along with some lemon juice and a little water then mash it all to a paste. [the back of a wooden spoon is handy for this].

Roll out half the pastry to a rectangle then mark the halfway line down the middle of the length. 

Spread out the date paste covering the whole of one half, just leaving a little edge. See pics on my Blog.

Sprinkle over some chopped walnuts, if you like. I do like! Fold over the pastry, leaving an edge to tuck under on the long and short sides. Lift carefully not a baking sheet. Brush with milk if you wish but sprinkle some caster sugar over the top, then mark out the slices, cutting almost the whole way through.

Bake in your pre heated oven for about 25 mins.

Just heavenly.