Coconut Banana Bread- LA LA YUM!

I don't know many people who don't enjoy a slice of banana bread. In fact, I only know one person who detests bananas. Isn't that bananas? xo

I'm also very fond of coconut now that I know a lot more about it's hidden health benefits!! This recipe I think is still a bit rich, however I am going to experiment with more ways to cut out the sugar. My roommate hates dates, but you could always soak and puree some dates to mash in with the bananas. You might need to adjust your flour measurement, but I'm sure that would significantly cut down on the added sugar factor.

You'll need:
Dry mix-
1 3/4 cup Flour (I was using whole wheat)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup shredded coconut (I used sweetened and used less sugar)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp orange zest

Wet mix-
About 3 large super ripe bananas (mine were frozen and really dark brown and sweeeet)
1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 egg + 2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla or one vanilla bean insides scraped out
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp fat free sour cream

Pre-heat your oven to 350° (325° if you have a convection oven)

Step 1- in a bowl, mix together all the dry mix ingredients.

Step 2- In a second bowl, mash the bananas very well and mix in the rest of the wet mix ingredients. Whisk gently to break up the eggs, but don't over whisk or you'll risk the bread being too dry..

Step 3- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together. If you find the batter is too thick, add a bit more coconut milk to thin it out. It should be just pourable, well plopable 

Step 4- Pour into a loaf pan lightly greased with coconut oil and a bit of flour. Bake for about 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, insert a tooth pick into the centre. It should still come out with batter. Turn the pan and bake for another 20 minutes. Test again with the toothpick. My oven cooks it perfectly in this time, but no two ovens are the same, so if it's still not cooked, set your timer at 5 minute intervals and check with a toothpick until it comes out clean!

Let the loaf rest for 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Resist all urges to devour the entire loaf. This loaf makes about 16 slices, so it lasted us 4 nights.

You can try substituting about 2 Tbsp of flour for cocoa powder, or add 1/4 cup chocolate chips to the batter.

As I mentioned, I was using sweetened coconut. My bananas were extremely sweet and I find that coconut milk, while the brand I buy says 0g sugar, still has a beautiful natural sweetness to it so I actually only used about 1/3 cup brown sugar. Again, try some pureed dates and maybe bring the added sugar down to 1/4 cup!

Le Yum
xoxo