Date Chocolate Loaf w/ Pistachio Crumble

This recipe is great. The cake comes out moist, and I love dates, especially Medjool ones. This recipe was inspired by Ottolenghi's Sticky Chocolate Loaf, which uses prunes and doesn't have a crumble. For this recipe, I used a financier pan and a regular loaf pan.

1 Pistachio Crumble Recipe

200g dried dates, pitted

100ml Armagnac or Cognac, heated so it's almost boiling

100ml Boiling water

1 teaspoon baking soda

60ml Sour Cream or Yogurt

60ml Sunflower Oil

1 free-range egg

20g caster sugar

40g brown sugar

40ml treacle or maple syrup

115g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

a pinch of salt

15g cocoa powder

150g dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 170C. Butter 2 small (500g) loaf pans.

Place half the dates in one bowl, half in another. Sprinkle half teaspoon into each bowl, then toss. Pour the boiling water in one bowl, the hot Armagnac in the other, and let it sit for a few minutes so that the dates soften.

Remove dates and blend with oil and sour cream till of mayonnaise consistency.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl.

Transfer date mixture to bowl, add 1 Tablespoon of the Armagnac, egg, sugars, treacle and mix with whisk. Fold in dry ingredients, then add chopped chocolate.

Pour into pans, top with Pistachio crumble and bake in oven for 45 minutes until it's cooked and no longer wet when you test it. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.