Cinnamon and Spice Bread with Dates and Walnuts

This afternoon I made the World's Best Bread, otherwise known as "Mission Impossible" in our house.
Honestly, have you ever tried to bake something with 4 kids in the house? Not so straight forward. But I did it and I'd do it again for this amazing bread. In fact, I'm really having a hard time calling it a bread. It's so delicious and wonderful it's really more of a cake without all the sugar. I've lovingly adapted this recipe from one of my fav blogs, Anja's Food For Thought.  I added nutmeg and cloves for extra Fall aroma's ( we'll take all we can get here in Phoenix) and subbed chopped dates for the raisins because I already had them and I added walnuts to the bread and topping. Just look at this list of ingredients, so healthy and delicious!
I strongly suggest you try this bread whatever obstacles may be hindering you from baking!! It's all kinds of worth it! Before you start baking away, take a peek at Anja's amazing blog! She has a truly natural and healthy approach to eating and I have personally made several of her delicious and simple recipes.

ummmm, ignore the fact that half of the loaf of bread seems to be missing.....

YIELDS  1 small loaf, I doubled this for 1 large loaf
You Will Need:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup warm milk

1/2 cup chopped dates or raisins

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup palm sugar ( I used Raw, Organic sugar)

2 eggs

1/4 cup plain, fat free yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

Topping

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 tablespoon butter



Putting it all together:
Combine oats, warm milk and dates in bowl, cover, let stand for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line loaf tin with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugar in  bowl or stand mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Whisk until well incorporated, before adding the next one. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Stir in oat mixture.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and spices. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

For the topping, combine oats, nuts, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Rub in butter with your finger tips or using a small spoon until mixture becomes crumbly.

Pour cake batter into prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle with topping . Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick come out clean. ( if you double the recipe add 10-13 more minutes bake time)  Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.