coconut bourbon banana bread
Before you take anything I say in this post seriously, you should probably know that I am most definitely NOT a baker. With the exception of a batch or four of vegan mojito cupcakes (spirits + dessert = two thumbs up!), it’s just not something I do. With all that kneading and measuring and more measuring, baking just doesn’t fit well with my “throw random amounts of ingredients together until it tastes right” style of cooking.
This probably explains why, despite my healthy and persistent obsession with all things food-related, yesterday’s banana bread was the first of its kind. And by that, I mean I actually had to go out and buy a bread pan before I could get started. I know, right?
Luckily for me, the nearly perfect recipe I was attempting to follow (thanks, Deb at SmittenKitchen!) was easy enough that even I couldn’t screw it up. That’s not to say I didn’t try; I tinkered a bit, of course (I can’t not!), and threw in some coconut and poppy seeds. I also left out the cloves, simply because I didn’t have any already ground and couldn’t be arsed to do anything with the bag of whole cloves I bought a few weeks ago at the Asian market. Oh, and the only thing I acutally managed to accurately measure was the flour, which makes the fact that I didn’t completely ruin a perfectly good recipe even more of a miracle.
Long story short, my first foray into banana bread-making was a complete success. So much of a success, in fact, that there’s only a slice or two left this morning. Great for my ego, not so great for my diet — but I suppose we’ve all got to compromise somewhere.
COCONUT BOURBON BANANA BREAD
3 ripe bananas, smashed
5 T melted butter
3/4(ish) c brown sugar
1 egg
splash of vanilla
bigger splash of bourbon
1 t baking soda
pinch of salt (you may even be able to leave this out, depending on whether or not you use salted butter)
healthy amount of cinnamon (1-2 t?)
pinch of nutmeg
1-2 t poppy seeds
1-1/2 c flour
good handful of coconut (1/3 c?)Preheat oven to 360 degrees (temperature and cooking time may vary; adjust according to your altitude, oven, etc). Mix all ingredients with spoon in mixing bowl.
Pour into greased loaf pan (the pan I used was 9″x5″, which made the banana bread wider and flatter than an 8″x4″ pan would have, although it didn’t seem to affect the consistency or moistness the way I thought it might) and sprinkle shredded coconut on the top if desired.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Remove from baking pan and cool on rack. Makes approximately 10 slices/servings.
NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serving):
205 cals (58 from fat)
6.8g fat
225mg sodium
31g carbs
1.5 g protein
Related Recipes
- Closet Cooking’s curried chocolate chip banana bread
- Pinch My Salt’s banana roll
- The Wednesday Chef’s coconut bread
- Vanilla Garlic’s coconut milk cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting
8 Responses to “coconut bourbon banana bread”
May 15th, 2008 at 2:56 am
Oh dear, this bread sounds delicious! I’ve never had banana and coconut together, but now I’m dying to try the combination. . .and adding bourbon cannot possibly be a misstep!
I’m impressed by your blog so far.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
@Hannah: You know, I’m not sure if I had ever had them together before either, but I’ve been on a coconut kick lately and it sounded like the perfect addition at the time. After tasting the final product, I can’t say I was wrong.
And thanks so much for the kind words!
May 16th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
nom nom nom
May 16th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
@shporq: NOM NOM NOM IS RIGHT. Maybe I’ll share a slice or two from the next batch with you if you time it right.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Nice looking banana bread! I like the idea of using bourbon and coconut.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
@Kevin: Thank you! I’ve made it a few times since I posted, and it just keeps getting better. Can’t wait to try your curried chocolate chip banana bread, by the way. It’s on My List.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Ooh la la, this sounds incredible.
May 29th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
@ Sally: Thank you!
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