Date Nut Bread with Orange Cream Cheese
Dates go with orange, as though they feasted on the same soils in their childhoods - and in deed in some countries they did! Try these as finger sandwiches or bars. Cream cheese and butter join the party in this finger sandwich filling to create a delicious way to serve date nut bread.
If you like nuts - and I do - pile them in. Always a fan of dates, at least in cookies and cakes, not to just suck on as observers of Ramadan do before feasting on the big Iftar meal at the end of a day of feasting, I love them in cookies, cakes and particularly in sticky toffee pudding.
Tunisian, in North Africa, our home for two years, is the world’s largest exporter of dates and memories of driving our young family through orchards of date plams int he Oasises of southern Tunisian, the oasis of Kebili being chief among them, and an occasional donkey ride on an obliging date farmer’s under their umbreallas of frond of the statuesque trees, date plams come ot mind. Date palms are said to “grow with their feet in the water and their heads in the fire” and this arid country provides those perfect conditions. The saying means that date palms require both abundant water and lots of sunshine in order to thrive. In Tunisia, famous for its Deglet Nour variety of dates,
Even now, when buying dates, I look at the packages to see where they are from and always feel a warm glow when it says Tunisia!
Date, Orange, Nut Bread with Cream Cheese
2 cups pitted, chopped dates
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup soft butter
4 ounces room temperature cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind
-In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in dates and cover with lid. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes or to room temperature.
-In a mixing bowl, mix egg with sugars and butter. Add dates and the soaking water and combine. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and mix until just combined. Stir in nuts.
-Grease a 9 x 5-inch bread loaf pan generously and dust the bottom with flour. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 1 hour at 300 degrees or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit upright in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn bread out of pan onto a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.
-Meanwhile, mix 1/2 cup butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, in an electric mixer. Stir in orange rind.
To serve, slice loaf into 10 - 12 slices. Spread a slice thickly with the cream cheese/butter spread. Top with another slice of bread then cut each “sandwich” into 4 equally sized strips from top to bottom of each date bread “sandwich”. Makes 20 - 24 finger slices.
Slice bread into 3/4 inch slices and spread one piece with orange cream cheese filling, then place another slice on top.
Cut sandwiches into fingers to serve.
Serve these moist, rich date nut bread fingers for teas, brunches and a snack for any time.
