Dates are fairly pricey here in Bangkok, but this past Friday, a week before payday, I decided to spoil us with a small packet of dates. The dates were so good that I was almost torn between just eating them as is and baking them into a moist and tasty date bread. The bread, of course, won.

And here is how you can make this delicious bread.

Round up:

1/2 cup dates, chopped

3/4 cup hot water

1 and 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 and a 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Make:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Combine the dates, butter and hot water in a bowl and let it stand. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the egg, vanilla, and date mixture and mix until moist. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 45- 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out, yes you guest it, clean. Let it cool if you have the patience, or enjoy it almost immediately.

Suggestions for Almond Date Bread:

- If you do not like the taste of almond, use vanilla extract instead. This was a bit of a taste experiment and I really liked the hint of almond in the bread.

- Add chopped walnuts if you like. I could not find any, so I went without. Next time I’ll try to have some on hand.

- Enjoy date bread at various times of the day, as often as possible.