Banana Bread Recipe

This is my favorite banana bread recipe. The tartness of the lime and the sweetness of the brown sugar make me lip my lips with every bite.

Thanks to the Queeniecarly blog for reminding me of this recipe.

As a note, I leave out the coconut - after two years of eating coconut fish soup in Kuna Yala I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy that flavor again. Too much tule masi ruined it for me.

From the cookbook Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant.

Yellowman's Banana Lime Bread
In St. Lucia and Anguilles, I made friends with some local people after repeated visits to the same beaches. I won't forget their great nicknames: Merit, Rah's Bucket, Campbell Soup, Sugar Ray, the Ram, So-lar, Freakout, Domino, Splif and Gorgeous. This tasty bread is named after Yellowman.

Yields 1 loaf.

BATTER
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
3 tablespoons milk (or plain yogurt)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut, toasted
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

GLAZE
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon rum
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

TOPPING
1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
To make the batter, in a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter. Stir in the eggs, bananas, milk or yogurt, and lime juice. Add the salt, ginger, and grated coconut and mix well. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them until smooth. Pour the butter into the buttered loaf pan and bake for an hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the bread for about 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Meanwhile, for the glaze, combine the brown sugar, butter, rum, and lime juice in a small saucepan on low heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes, until it becomes a thin syrup. Pour this glaze over the loaf, spreading it with a spatula or spoon to coat the top and sides. Sprinkle toasted grated coconut evenly over the glazed loaf.