Culinary SOS: How to make the date nut slices at Lodge Bread in Culver City

Reader Veronica Rodriguez of Sherman Oaks can’t get enough of the date nut slices at Lodge Bread in Culver City, generous squares of cake studded with chopped dates and nuts, not too sweet and with just the right hints of orange and vanilla. “To me, it looks like a great brownie but with no chocolate,” she writes. “It’s to die for!”

Lodge Bread was happy to share the recipe. “We feature dates on a lot of menu items here at Lodge,” says Alexander Phaneuf, who co-owns the bakery with Or Amsalam. “We both have a love of dates. I grew up in the Coachella Valley and have so many fond memories of playing in the date fields as a kid and eating a lot of dates.” After tossing around a number of ideas, the pair tasked pastry chef Julia Webb with creating a date cake. “It’s been on the menu a long time, and we can’t take it off. It’s super popular,” he says.

Lodge Bread's Date Nut Slices

Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Yields Makes 12 to 16 slices