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Spiced Banana and Coconut Loaf

Spiced Banana and Coconut Loaf - It's yet another way to use up those pesky overripe bananas. But this recipe is a bit different. There are Asian flavours here - chinese five-spice and cinnamon - and the addition of coconut is a great balance to that banana.The wholemeal flour makes it more substantial plus it contains no refined sugar. It keeps well too - we can thank the bananas for that - so if you want to make it ahead of time, you'll be in great shape.
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There are Asian flavours here - chinese five-spice and cinnamon - and the addition of coconut is a great balance to that banana.

Tweaked from a recipe by Ghillie James

Ingredients

Scale
  • 125ml (4½ floz) coconut oil, plus a but extra for greasing
  • 2 medium overripe bananas (about 200g (7oz) flesh) + half a banana (cut lengthways) to decorate (optional)
  • 4 tablespoons coconut milk
  • 100ml (3½ floz) runny honey + 1 tablespoon for decoration
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 225g (8oz) plain wholemeal flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 170°C / 150°C Fan / 325°F (gas mark 3). Grease and line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin.
  2. Use a fork to mash the bananas.
  3. Put the coconut oil, coconut milk, 100ml honey, eggs and vanilla extract into a large bowl and mix well. Stir in the mashed banana.
  4. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients - the flour, baking powder, chinese five spice, cinnamon and coconut. Now add these to the banana mixture and stir with a metal spoon until just combined.
  5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and place the remaining half banana on to the top of the mixture (you can freeze the other half to make a small smoothie).
  6. Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes until golden brown and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Check it after 45 minutes - you may need to cover the top of the cake with foil if it is browning too quickly.
  7. Towards the end of the cooking time, warm the extra tablespoon of honey slightly in the microwave until it is runny enough to brush.
  8. Once the cake is out of the oven carefully brush the top with the warm honey to give a beautiful glaze.
  9. Leave the cake to cool in the tin before tipping out and slicing to serve.

Keywords: cosy, sharing, loaf tin

Find it online: https://marmaladeandme.com/spiced-banana-coconut-loaf/