Whole Wheat Date Nut Bread with Cardamom Crumble and Honey Cream Cheese Icing

Image courtesy of Dina, from DishItGirl.com

This recipe is from Dish It Girl Dina. To see more recipes, go to here website, www.dishitgirl.com.

The perfect make ahead breakfast bread. A great twist on classic date nut bread. The cardamom crumble and honey cream cheese spread make this the perfect morning snack for the holidays!

ingredients

date nut bread

• cooking spray
• 1 1/2 c hot water
• 1 c pitted dates, chopped
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 c all purpose flour
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 c pecans, chopped
• 3/4 c brown sugar

cardamom crumble

• 1 c quick oats
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 c walnuts, chopped (optional)

honey cream cheese

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

instructions

date bread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a glass 1.6 qt loaf baking dish with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, pour hot water over dates and let stand until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in egg, oil, and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, salt, pecans, and brown sugar. Fold wet mixture into dry until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
2. Bake about 65 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let rest 10 minutes, then turn out from pan onto a cooling rack.

cardamom crumble

1. In a medium size pan melt and brown the butter over a medium to low heat. The butter will get foamy and turn a golden brown color.
2. Meanwhile in a medium size bowl mix together the oats, brown sugar, cardamom, and walnuts.
3. Add the mixture to the pan with the brown butter. Mix making sure the oats are all covered and soaked into the butter
4. Add the lemon juice and mix again, allowing the oats to get softer and a golden color.
5. After about five minutes remove from the heat. Let the mixture cool and then top the date nut bread with the honey cream cheese spread. If you have leftover, it makes great granola for yogurt!

honey cream cheese

1. Let the cream cheese soften enough so it is easier to mix ingredients.
2. Beat cream cheese, honey, and cinnamon until smooth with an electric mixer using a medium low speed.