Date paste is a useful sweetener in the raw food kitchen as you can use it to sweeten all manner of desserts. Once made, it keeps well for up to five days in the fridge. It also freezes well. Portion it out and defrost as required.

You can use any type of dates for this. Sayer dates are generally less expensive and also drier. They may require a longer soaking time than the larger more expensive stickier Medjools. In terms of flavour, I tend to reserve use of Medjool dates for specific recipes such as chocolate milk and toffee sauce and use the less expensive dates as a general date paste sweetener.

You can add a little more water to make a date caramel sauce - add a pinch of sea salt, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon if you like.

INGREDIENTS
140g dates, pitted
60ml water to blend

METHOD

Soak the dates in enough water to cover them and leave until softened. Drain off the excess water reserving 60 ml (about 4 tablespoons). In a blender, whizz the softened pitted dates and 60ml water together until you have a smooth paste. You may need to keep scraping down the dates from the sides of the blender so it is all amalgamated without any lumps. Continue to blend the date paste until smooth and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.