Date Cakes

Barely cover the dates with water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes until you have a soft mass. Put in a bowl with the sultanas, walnuts and cinnamon and mix together. Make the pastry: put a small cup of water in the freezer to get cold. Sieve the flour into a large bowl with a pinch of salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and put into the flour. Rub it in with your fingertips, holding your hands high above the bowl to get air into the mix (look at YouTube). Add about five tablespoons of cold water and bring it together with a knife before using your fingers to bring it into a smooth ball. Or just put flour and salt into a food processor, and the water and pulse until it comes together. Add a little more water if it is too crumbly. Cut the pastry into 4. On a floured board or marble slab roll it out into a lozenge shape. Leaving a bit of an edge all around the pastry, spoon a quarter of the filling and spread it out. Take one end of the pastry and roll it up diagonally until it is all rolled up. Flatten it slightly with your palm. Place on a buttered or paper lined baking tray. Do the same with the other three. Lightly score a diagonal line across the pastry to mark out the place where you will cut each cake. Bake for about 25-30 mins at Gas mark 6 (400f/200c), slightly lower in a fan oven. Leave for 5 minutes before placing them on a rack to cool further. Once cold, cut along the scored lines and dust with plenty of icing sugar.