Yes, I know I've done a banana bread recipe before. It was a basic recipe, and I didn't even have a picture. Or if I did, it got lost somewhere, and I didn't post it. Same difference. And while that recipe was good, I like experimenting. So I found this recipe for Coconut Banana bread. That sounded a little weird, but I went with it. I did omit the coconut itself, so the bread doesn't have a very coconut flavor, but I had all the other ingredients on hand, and figured, why not?
So, I give you a twist on the typical banana bread recipe. Enjoy!
Banana Muffins
Adapted from Fat Girl Trapped In a Skinny Body
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (use all purpose and increase baking soda to 1 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, mix the applesauce and sugar. Add the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Mix in the mashed banana and coconut milk. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Incorporate into the wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined.
Pour the batter into prepared pan*, and bake according to the directions below.
*For muffins, line a muffin tin with liners, or grease well. Bake muffins for 15 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For mini loaves, grease the pans well. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For 9 by 5 loaf pan, grease the pan well. Bake for about 1 hour, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
My Notes:
If you want to add the coconut, the original recipe recommends mixing in 1 cup shredded coconut at the end. I think almonds might make a good addition to this recipe too, if you're the type of person who typically likes banana walnut bread.
These muffins are super moist, and delightful. They are still very banana-y, but have a depth of flavor beyond that of regular banana bread. I'm not sure if I'll keep this recipe as is, as I don't buy coconut milk too often (I happened to have it on hand because I wanted to make a Thai dish a while back), but never quite got around to it. I'm also not convinced of the supposed 'health benefits' of coconut milk that everyone is touting recently, but that's another story.
As for what to do with the leftover coconut milk... why not make up a small batch of my Indian Chicken Curry? I might come out with a few more recipes soon using coconut milk, so stay tuned!
