Coconut Chocolate Banana Bread

April 25, 2017 Laura

Whose got a kid addicted to Musical.ly? Raise your hand. I know, I do, too. Well, actually she’s not super addicted any more, but, boy, it’s not my favourite. I’m not sure why. The kids have fun making little videos as they lip synch to their favorite songs but I feel like it’s one more pain in the butt reason for them to be on their iPad. As if all the games weren’t enough. I also cringe when the lyrics are too racy. Do I really want her lip synching and dancing to some of the lyrics that go over her head but are so not going over the heads of others?! I know some people reason it’s creative but, as a creative person, I don’t think so at all. How much creative thought goes into lip synching a song? It’s not like you need to storyboard that thing. Can’t you just do something truly creative like bake? I know. Most of you just laughed out loudly but, seriously, what do you get at the end of a musical.ly? Likes? Wouldn’t you way rather have a warm Coconut Chocolate Banana Bread?

A few Saturday ago, Scarlett and I spent an afternoon in the kitchen baking. We cook together every weekend but, on this occasion, we were recipe testing. When she was little, I’d take her into the kitchen to make a long day of nothing to do with a toddler go by faster. We’d bake muffins or prep dinner and it would help move the day forward. Today it’s the same thing but different; instead of wasting time I’m trying to use time in a better way. Rather than having Scarlett in front of the TV or on her device, we bake. We talk. We experiment. We laugh and, yes, sometimes, we argue over who has to clean up, but the end game is always something warm and delicious. And, the best part, we eat it. This Coconut Chocolate Banana Bread was the outcome of our recipe testing afternoon. She wanted the chocolate. I wanted the almonds. And we both agreed coconut would be good too. So there you have it. A banana bread full of flavour and texture that makes breakfast so easy. Ask Scarlett’s latest Musical.ly to Alessia Cara if it can make breakfast easier. I bet it can’t.

Yield: Makes: 1 loaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 bananas, mashed
2 cups spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Method

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar with a hand blender or stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time and blend in between. Mix in mashed bananas.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture in stages to butter mix incorporated after each addition. Fold in the chips, coconut and almond slivers. Pour into prepared baking pan; tapping pan down to make sure it's evenly distributed.

Bake in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a rack for a few minutes. Turn out of pan and store in a plastic bag for up to a week.

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