A slice of date

I made date slices today.
I thought Bella might like them.
She didn't.
They made her shudder.
Maybe you might like them.

Date Slice

375g pitted dates
grated zest of 1 lemon
200g self-raising wholemeal flour
150g butter, diced
90g light muscovado sugar
150g porridge oats

Place the dates in a saucepan with 200ml of water and the lemon zest. Bring to the boil, stir well and allow to bubble, uncovered, for eight to ten minutes - until soft and thick. Then set this aside.

Place the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and whizz briefly, then stir in the oats. Tip half of this into a buttered shallow, rectangular (28cm x 18cm) baking tin and press down. Spread the date mixture all over and then sprinkle over the remaining oat mixture, like a crumble.

Bake at 200¼C/400¼F/gas 6 for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden, and then remove and cut into 16 slices. Only remove from the tin to a wire rack when cold.