Coconut Cardamom Date Bread

A good morning in the life of me involves a cup of coffee, mediation in the form of prayer, the food section of the newspaper, and a good breakfast. A tasty wholesome breakfast that pairs extraordinarily well with coffee or tea (I have to have my caffeine, caffeine addiction since high school, yes it happened). I can skip lunch on occasion, but I can never skip breakfast. The day I made this bread, it was snowing. The first snow of the season that stuck, but thankfully it did not stay for too long. Regardless of this matter, it was very cold, wet and snowy outdoors, so of course I decided to bake. I had a little bit of remaining heavy cream from making the s'mores cake and I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for. Tender, delicious quick bread. The bread came together very quickly, the very beauty of quick breads, and the house smelled absolutely lovely. I immediately felt warm inside as I looked out the window at the wet snow rain, as I like to call it.



I adore Indian spices; they are so flavorful. I cover my roasted veggies in turmeric each and every day. The health benefits of this spice are astonishing. I could write a good five blog posts or more just on the benefits of having a teaspoon of turmeric a day, but we are not talking about turmeric in this recipe, so I will save that for another day. But please do the research if you are interested, it is quite astounding. Today we are going to talk about cardamom. Cardamom is an aromatic spice that pairs lovely with pastries and sweets. You may find it in teas and coffees, but it is most often found in sweet breads. Like its friend turmeric, cardamom holds health benefits in digestion. The taste and smell of this spice are wonderful.

This bread pairs coconut, cardamom and dates in a flavor profile that is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. The heavy cream makes this bread deliciously tender and moist, almost cake like. I know, I know heavy cream is not an ingredient for a wholesome breakfast, but the dates and coconut have a considerable amount of fiber. All three flavor profiles of this bread are good for the stomach and digestion . So eat away, sip your tea, and read that novel while the snow falls outside your window.

Coconut Cardamom Date Bread

1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cardamom
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened
1/2 cup chopped dates (preferably purchased pre-chopped)

1. Sift together dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cardamom). Place in a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment.
2. Combine the egg, cream, and vanilla extract together. Gradually add to the dry ingredients.
3. Gradually add in melted butter, while mixing. Mix well.
4.  Fold in coconut and dates.
5. Place batter in a greased loaf pan. Cover the top of the batter with a big handful of sweetened shredded coconut. Bake in a 350 F oven until golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Enjoy!