Coconut Banana Bread

A bunch of ripe bananas got me cruising for a good banana bread recipe. Nicole's coconut banana bread recipe caught my eye as it included one of my all time favorite combos of coconut and bananas. I modified her recipe ever so slightly with still great results. I halved her flour and added 1 cup whole wheat flour, threw in 3 teaspoons of chopped candied ginger and topped off the bread with some toasted almond slices. The results? Pure banana bread heaven. The almonds gave the bread a nice little crunch, the ginger was subtle and the main flavors focused on coconut and banana! A winner.

Here is what I did based on Nicole's recipe:

Coconut Banana Bread

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed banana (2 med-large)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 3 tsp chopped candied ginger
• A fist of toasted almonds for topping.

Preheat oven 350F and lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add candied ginger to the dry mix.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until well combined, then whisk in the mashed banana, coconut milk, butter and vanilla extract. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined, making sure no streaks of flour remain. Stir in shredded coconut and pour batter out into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle toasted almonds on top.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Turn loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.