2tablespoongrape seed oil, (or other mildly flavoured oil)
1flax egg, (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed soaked in 3 tablespoon of water until gloopy)
1 ½cupswhite flour
1teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonsalt
2teaspoonground cinnamon
½teaspoonground ginger
½teaspoonground nutmeg
½teaspoonground cloves
¼cuppecans, or walnuts for garnish (optional)
Additional soy milk, to glaze (optional)
Instructions
Mix dates, boiling water and baking soda and set aside to soak for an hour. This will soften the dates a lot.
Preheat oven to 160C (320F) fanbake.
Mix soaked dates and the soaking liquid with the pumpkin puree, soy milk, maple syrup, oil and the flax egg.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt and spices to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine, without overmixing.
Pour the mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin. Dot the surface with pecans or walnuts.
Bake for 50 minutes, then brush the surface with soy (or other) milk. Return to the oven and continue baking until cooked. Use a skewer to check for doneness from 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking time, returning the loaf to the oven for another 5-10 minutes if necessary. The loaf is cooked if the skewer remains clean.
Notes
Prep time does not include soaking time for the dates. An hour is ideal to perfectly soften the dates, but you can cut this time down depending on how much time you have available.