Holiday Almanac December 20: Cream Cheese Nut Bread

For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

Today's task was supposed to be to make a batch of 'gumdrop nut bread,' which is exactly what it sounds like: a lovely loaf of warm brown breakfast bread, studded through with toasted pecans and... gumdrops?

Eww, right? Even though the directions include a specific step to 'remove black gumdrops,' this still sounded really really gross to me. I was willing to make it anyway, though, but then I went to the supermarket and discovered that they don't have gumdrops in the UK... or at least not at my Tesco, and just like that, this recipe became a Cream-Cheese Pecan Bread, and everyone in my house breathed a sigh of relief.

Anything I can eat for breakfast that involves cream cheese filling and pecans is getting an A+ in my book, and this cake, still warm from the oven, is no different.

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. This cake is delicious, moist, and cosy-- the perfect breakfast for the week leading up to Christmas. However, the orange zest in it makes it incredibly citrus-y, and while that appeals to me on a very base level, some people may not like it as much.

The recipe:

Cream Cheese Nut Bread

the directions:
filling:

Make the filling by combining all filling ingredients in a small bowl, then mixing until smooth.
Set aside.

 

Bread:

Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan, and preheat the oven to 160C/325F.
Combine honey and milk in a large mixing bowl.
Add flour, sugar, soda, salt, shortening, and egg.
Mix until smooth.
Fold in nuts gently until uniformly distributed.
Pour half of batter into prepared loaf pan, then pour filling over batter.
Scoop remaining batter on top of filling as gently as possible, and try to spread the batter to the edges of the pan as much as you can.
Bake 40-60 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out slightly sticky.

the ingredients:
the filling:

6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp orange peel, grated
¾ c sugar

the bread:

2/3 c honey
2/3 c milk
2 ½ c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ c shortening
1 egg
1 c chopped pecans