Matrimonial cake

This lovingly paired combination of a crumbly oatmeal base and the sweet and chewy date filling supposedly gets its name from an old custom of breaking the cake over the heads of newlyweds. However, matrimonial cake is known by different names throughout Canada, such as date squares, or date crumbles. It is believed that this humble dessert originated at a time when people couldn't afford the more expensive flour, so traditionally, there were always rolled oats used as a base, and fruit or sweetmeat used for the filling. This old Mennonite recipe seems to be an invention of the 1930s, hailing either from Manitoba or the neighboring Saskatchewan, though it was later popularized across the country.