We have made a lot of banana chocolate chip snack cakes (my first recipe on this blog!). It doesn't often happen that all three children want the same food for breakfast or for a snack, but banana baked goods seem to do the trick. I wanted to change it up a bit, though, so I have been working on this banana bread.
I know that banana bread may not be the most exciting recipe to share, but I have been tweaking this recipe for months and I am really happy with the way it has come out. It is very banana-y and moist, and the coconut adds a bit of extra sweetness.
Of course, not everybody in our family likes nuts, so I had to come up with a trick for making half the loaf with nuts and half without. I left the batter without nuts then put a spatula in the middle of the pan and poured in about half of the batter. Leave the spatula there and stir nuts into the remaining half of the batter. Pour that into the other side of the pan and remove the spatula. Place a nut on the top of the nut side so that you can track which side is which.
If you happen to have access to a snaggletoothed two year old nephew with deliciously pudgy fingers and a smile that melts your heart, definitely enlist him to help.
Second Helping: Blueberry Crumb Cake
Banana Coconut Pecan Bread
Makes 1 standard loaf
20 minutes preparation time
50-55 minutes baking time
approximately 2 cups mashed bananas (3-4)
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup pecans, broken a bit (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a standard loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, butter, sugars, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and coconut. Mix until just combined. Add the nuts and mix briefly. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes. Standard-sized muffins take about 25 minutes to bake. Let the cake cool in the pan for about half an hour then flip it out onto a cooling rack to continue to cool or serve it warm.
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