Coconut Bread

There has been a new addition to my kitchen. No it’s not new oven mitts to replace the ones I currently have that are quite burnt, dirty and torn. No it’s not ladle so that I stop pouring soups and batter with a measuring cup. And no it’s not the cookbook holder that would keep me from having to maneuver through books with dirty hands and keep the pages clean.

It’s a hammer!  Yes – a hammer. It’s the hammer that caused me to almost crush my pinky finger this past weekend. Well, it actually wasn’t the hammer’s fault. You see, I was trying to show off in front of my father-in-law and show him how I had turned into a coconut cracking expert. Being the gentleman that he is he of course offered to help but being the stubborn lady that I am I just had to do it myself. Then I had to act as if nothing happen when my my hand slipped, stuff fell into the sink and I temporarily lost sensitivity on the tip on my pinky. (He doesn’t read the blog… so don’t tell him.)

My pinky is fine! And this coconut bread was well worth the pain.

Coconut bread is a delicacy from Barbados, where my father-in-law is from. He told me many stories about how his mother made it with coconut grated by hand with graters they made themselves out of sheets of hard metal.

Um… yea… this chica was not going through all of that. You know how long it would take to grate coconut on the rough side of the grater not to mention the potential for injury. I mean, if that’s how you roll, go for it. I took a zippy shortcut with my food processor. Just process the coconut until it looks like snow and voila!

Oh and the recipe is not the traditional one either. After my third go around at making this, I have developed a lighter version that got a thumbs up from the coconut bread gurus (the hubs and father-in-law). It’s got a tight crumb but remains light with just a touch of sweetness and a ‘lil bite from the coconut. If you decide you don’t want to go through the trouble of grating fresh coconut, use store-bought but try to find the unsweetened kind for this recipe.

Technically this is not a bread. It’s a cake that thinks it’s a bread. Call it whatever you want and make sure to bake it because you won’t be disappointed. (Maybe your pinky finger will bit it will get over it.)

• 8 ounces all purpose flour;
• 2 teaspoons baking powder;
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt;
• Pinch of cinnamon;
• 4 ounces melted unsalted butter;
• 2 eggs;
• 4 ounces granulated sugar;
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract;
• 8 ounces evaporated milk;
• 8 ounces finely grated coconut.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and set aside.
3. In another medium bowl, combine the butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Then pour the wet ingrediants into the flour mixture and mix using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula mix until all the ingredients are combined. Stir in coconut.
4. Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely over a rack before slicing and serving.

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