Not only does this coconut bread emerge toasty and golden and delicious from the oven, but it's resilient and versatile (toasted for breakfast? Check. Eating as is for mid-afternoon snack? Check. Sliced and covered with some sort of fruit salad or perhaps a glug of homemade chocolate sauce for dessert? Check.).
I had to use cake flour instead of all-purpose, and unsweetened shredded coconut instead of that gluey Angel brand kind because it's what I had at home, and regular sugar instead of superfine - and still this bread turned out fantastically.
Warmly spiced with cinnamon, agreeably textured from the small coconut flakes, moist and not too sweet - I think (dare I say it?) that this is my new favorite sweet bread. Move over, banana bread! There's a new kid in town.
Despite the volume of sugar here (I admit, I was convinced it would be overkill) this bread is not very sweet. If you would like a less sweet bread, you can use unsweetened coconut, which usually comes dried. The original recipe didn't call for salt, and I think this and all breads, really need salt so I added 1/3 teaspoon table salt.
This loaf, once baked, entirely filled and towered above my 9x5x3 (8-cup) loaf pan, so if yours is smaller, you might want to pour off a little batter into greased muffin tins.
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
5 ounces sweetened flaked coconut (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted or melted and browned, if desired
Confectioner's sugar - optional
Vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray for baking pan
Prep
1.Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add butter, and stir until just smooth - be careful not to overmix.
3. Butter and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or coat it with a nonstick spray. Spread batter in pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool in pan 5 minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack.
4. Serve in thick slices, toasted, with butter and confectioners' sugar or salted honey brown butter spread.
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