Date Nut Spice Bread

I was all Ina'd out this Mother's Day. Not only did I host a brunch at Chateau Blaha, but I also made all the food...and three of my recipes were directly from the Barefoot Contessa herself. I find that Ina Garten's recipes are quite exact and they usually turn out very good. On the menu I had scrabbled eggs with roasted asparagus, turkey breakfast patties, a lovely platter of bagels and lox, fruit salad that my sister-in-law made, and this date nut bread with orange zest cream cheese. I'll post the rest of the recipes throughout the week, but below is Ina's date nut bread, which was delish, indulgent and I only have a small slice left at the house.

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 loaf)

• 2 cups coarsely chopped dates (10 ounces pitted)
• 1/3 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Cointreau or Triple Sec)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I forgot to buy ground cloves, so I used Allspice instead)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 oranges)
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (3 ounces)

For the cream cheese spread:

• 6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom of an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pan.

Combine the dates and orange liqueur in a small bowl and set aside for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on low, add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. With the mixer still on low, add the flour mixture alternately with the orange juice to the creamed mixture, beating only until combined. By hand, stir in the dates with their liquid, and the pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, sugar, and orange zest on medium speed until just combined.

Slice the bread and serve with the orange cream cheese on the side for spreading. Yummers!