Coconut and Banana Bread

 

You may have seen a couple of weeks ago that I hosted a Coffee Morning for school mums at my house. It’s organised by the Parent Reps, one for each year group, regularly throughout the school year as an opportunity to get to know other parents. I served a selection of cakes, along with fruit, yogurt and granola, as the Coffee Morning starts after the morning school run, and I know that it’s not always easy to get a proper breakfast when you are wrestling a three-year-old into their shoes.

The cake that got the most praise was my Coconut and Banana Bread- a lighter loaf than standard Banana Bread which, as it turned out, was perfect for the warmer weather we have had of late. On that basis, I thought I might share the recipe.

 

• 125g soft brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 350g self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 125ml coconut milk
• 50g butter, melted
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed

1. Preheat the oven 180°C. Grease and line a loaf tin (mine is a 2lb one.)
2. Mix sugar, salt, self-raising flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.
3.  Add the egg, coconut milk and cooled melted butter and mix until combined.
4. Add the bananas to the mixture and fold them in using a tablespoon.
5. Pour batter into loaf tin and level with back of spoon.
6. Put the loaf on the middle shelf of the oven for an hour until risen and golden brown. Check that the middle by inserting a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean then it’s cooked. If not, put back in the oven and check again in 10 minutes.

Serve sliced with butter. You could add some lime zest to the mixture as well to give the loaf a tropical feel, or try mixing lime zest into Mascarpone cheese and serving with the Coconut and Banana Loaf. Delicious!