The weekends are always a time of baking sweets for me, so on Sunday, I needed my “baking fix”. I went to Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday to run a 10k with my sister. While we were there, we tried baking “Rum Raisin Bars” from the Fat Witch Brownies cookbook. Unfortunately they were a flop…. we soaked the raisins in dark rum instead of light rum, and so the bars tasted like alcoholic, liquid blondies. For those of you who don’t know me, I HATE the taste of alcohol and DO NOT drink (nor does anyone in my family). Thus, these bars tasted disgusting, so we threw them out.
When I got home from Stillwater, I was still craving something sweet, since the Rum Raisin Bars did not turn out. I immediately flipped through my cookbooks, and found in my recipe box, a yummy looking quick bread called Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze. The recipe was photocopied out of some magazine my mom had bought a while back, but since it has been so long, I can’t remember what magazine the bread came from.
If you are looking for a twist on your typical banana bread, this is the one to try. It has sweetened coconut, ripe bananas, and luscious lime juice combined with powdered sugar for a tart and tangy glaze to complement the sweet and savory bread. This bread reminds me of Martha Stewart’s Coconut Banana Bread, that I dearly love, except this recipe has a lime glaze. For those of you who may not know this, I am in love with anything with lime in it! Key lime pie, limeade pie, key lime bars, and now key lime pie frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt in Stillwater (which I discovered this past Saturday). Enjoy this delicious bread!
Combine sugar and butter and beat until smooth in electric mixer. Add eggs, beating after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt until just moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.
Pour into greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of coconut.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until cake tester comes out clean from the center. (I halved the recipe and baked one mini loaf for about 40 minutes).
Let bread cool. Meanwhile, whisk together lime juice and powdered sugar.
Drizzle glaze over warm bread. Let bread cool completely.
Slice and enjoy!
Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
Ingredients
9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I non-fat vanilla yogurt)
3 Tbsp dark rum (I omitted)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 Tbsp flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
3. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture; beat a low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.
4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.
5. Combine powdered sugar and juice; stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.
