banana coconut cake

so I’ve finally managed to upload the photos in full-size as I’d like them – I’ll be updating the older posts so you get a better look at the food I’ve been eating (and baking).

this is another loaf-ish cake, and builds up on the standard banana cake recipe – also a nice change from having either coconut or banana. there’s something very gratifying about quickbreads – you bake them up very quickly and they make your house smell great, and it doesn’t hurt that they taste very good too.

the bananas I’ve used here are small local finger bananas, and they have a more banana-ey taste than the traditional del monte ones, which gave this an immensely fragrant and intense flavour, so much so that my banana-hating mother could barely have a slice. more for the rest of us! with the coconut cake recipe I previously posted, the cake came out more crumbly due to the nature of the very fine crumb of the cake. you’ll find that this one slices very cleanly because the banana keeps it moist.

you’ll notice again that I did not give you specific timings for baking – most cakes will take 15-20 minutes for their initial rise, when you should not open the door, but there after you’ll want to keep an eye out for when it browns. experience makes perfect!

I adapted the Mark Bittman’s banana bread recipe by toasting the coconut so the taste would stand out more, and using only all-purpose flour as I had no whole wheat on hand. just believe that the coconut and banana in here make this bread practically a fruit and therefore healthy.

banana coconut cake (adapted from Cooking Books)

1 stick butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
0.75 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
0.5 cup dessicated coconut

1. preheat the oven to 175C. butter your loaf pan (I made one-third of this recipe and used a small bundt pan and a mini loaf pan).
2. toast your dessicated coconut in a non-stick pan over low heat, browning it slightly so that the fragrance intensifies. be careful not to burn it as it toasts much quicker at the end. remove from pan (or it’ll start burning) into a small bowl and set aside.
3. cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the eggs separately, mixing well after each. mix in the bananas until combined.
4. measure the dry ingredients into this wet mixture and fold gently.
5. stir in the vanilla as well as the toasted coconut until combined.
6. pour into the pan and use a spatula to spread it to the corners. bake until golden brown and cooked, until a tester comes out clean.