This Banana Coconut Sweet Bread is incredibly easy to make. It uses coconut in each element to really give it a tropical twist.Â
Honestly, this banana coconut sweet bread recipe is one of our favourite recipes. In fact, I've been making it for about 15 years. It takes my Mom's Banana Bread recipe and changes it up a little bit.
The addition of coconut comes from my extreme love of all things tropical. Honestly, I'm a coconut fiend. I mean, I can never get enough coconut in my life.
So, the day I made this I made three other bread recipes as well. Honestly, I got a little carried away. It's all good though. You can never have enough bread.
I'm going to be honest, the house smelled amazing the day I baked all of them.
Honestly, I thought my neighbours were going to show up at my door with plates since I had the windows open.
Luckily that did not happen. Some days I just don't want to share. In fact, most days I don't want to, if I'm being honest.
This banana coconut sweet bread not only tastes great but it also looks incredible as well. Make a batch today!
Originally I made this bread for my friend, Kate who blogged at Food Babbles. I've updated it a bit and added a video for you.
Ingredient Notes:
- Flour - I used all purpose flour for this bread.
- Baking Powder - Don't skip this ingredient.
- Salt - A little salt enhances flavour so I recommend using it unless you need to omit it for health reasons.
- Sugar - This recipes actually uses granulated sugar, in addition to light brown sugar. It uses confectioners' sugar as well.
- Shortening - Personally, I love using shortening in this one but feel free to substitute butter if you like.
- Eggs - Use large eggs for this bread. Be sure to beat them with a whisk in a bowl prior to adding them.
- Bananas - Ripe bananas work best. You can blend them completely or leaves some chunky pieces.
- Extract - Not only did I use vanilla extract but I also used coconut extract as well.
- Heavy cream - This is used for the glaze or icing you add to the top of the bread.
- Coconut - You can use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut.
How to Make Banana Coconut Sweet Bread:
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then, spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper. Set the pan aside.
- Next, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a bowl. Mix well.
- In another bowl, combine the shortening, bananas, eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon coconut extract. Mix well.
- Next, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Then, transfer the banana bread batter to the loaf pan. Smooth the top.
- Place the loaf pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
- Then, carefully remove the pan from the oven. Place the pan on a cooling rack for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Next, make the glaze by combining the confectioners' sugar, heavy cream and coconut extract in a bowl and whisking until smooth.
- Pour the coconut glaze over top of the coconut bread, either in the pan or on a cooling rack.
- Next, sprinkle the shredded coconut over top of the glaze.
- Lastly, slice the bread.
- Serve!
More Bread Recipes:
- One Hour Bread
- Momzie's Banana Bread
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Bread with Walnuts
- Pizza Pull Apart Bread
- Chocolate Toblerone Bread
- Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
- Apple Pull Apart Bread with Caramel Drizzle
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread by Simply Recipes
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Banana-Coconut Sweet Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 â…“ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- â…“ cup shortening
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 bananas mashed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- ¾ cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- ¾ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray, and line it with parchment paper. Set the pan aside.
- In one large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Mix well.
- In another large bowl combine shortening, bananas, eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon coconut extract. Mix well.
- Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Transfer mixture to lined loaf pan.
- Place loaf pan in the oven and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes. The bread should be golden brown. If you insert a toothpick into the loaf it should come out clean.
- Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Make the glaze: In a medium-sized bowl combine confectioners' sugar and heavy cream. Add the coconut extract. Whisk until it comes together.
- Pour the coconut glaze over the bread.
- Sprinkle with shredded coconut.
- Slice bread.
- Serve with a big old banana-coconut loving smile!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for visiting today!
If you’re looking for more bread recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find dessert recipes as well.
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Toodles! xx
Anita
Tropical paradise! I love how you took quick bread to the next level!
John Robert Small
Is the shredded coconut only for the glaze? (Not used in the cake/bread recipe?)
Thanks for clarifying
Kim Beaulieu
Hi John, so sorry I didn't see your comments earlier. They were stuck in one of the filters.
Yes, the shredded coconut is just to sprinkle over top of the glaze at the end. That said, if you're a coconut fan I wouldn't hesitate to toss a little in the bread itself. I've done it on occasion and it's lovely. About 1/2 cup is good. Crushed pineapple is also a welcome addition.
Sarah Walker Caron (Sarah's Cucina Bella)
This bread looks so pretty with all of that coconut piled on top -- I love it too.
Lana@NeverEnoughThyme
I'm a coconut fanatic, too! Wishing I had a slice of this gorgeous bread to enjoy with my morning coffee right now.
John Robert Small
What approx weight of "two bananas" please (there is such a variance in size!). THANKS
Kim Beaulieu
Hi John. I've honestly never weighed bananas for banana bread and I'm 54 years old. Maybe I should start? I do use cups in some recipes though.
Honestly, 2 is a good minimum for banana bread. 3 bananas is great too!
A general rule of thumb for banana bread:
2 bananas is equal to approximately 1 cup of mashed banana (or 1-1/3 cups of chopped banana)
3 bananas is equal to approximately 1-1/2 cups of mashed banand (or 2 cups of chopped banana)
Next time I make this I'll weigh the bananas and drop that info in the post. It's a good idea so thanks for the great question.
Crystal Barrett
Mmmmm. I love the coconut an the glaze on top!!
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos
OMG I need to make this for the holidays!!!! Sheer brilliance Kim - love it!
Serena | Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
What a gorgeous loaf! I totally love it!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife
It looks like an awesome bread and it totally makes me think of christmas for some reason
Carla (@charliesue)
Is it weird that I think this cake looks angelic? It would look so lovely on a holiday dessert table!
Choc Chip Uru
I really like how fluffy this delicious banana bread looks 😀
Coconut improves all!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Emily @ Life on Food
I love banana bread and ate the plain old version last week. I wish now though I had this coconut goodness. So yummy!!
Melissa from HungryFoodLove.com
I am crazy about coconut and this looks fantastic!
Colleen (Souffle Bombay)
Geez-Oh-Man does that ever look scrumptious! I LOVE your choice of topping!Gorgeous photos as well!
Lorri
I would have to add dark chocolate to this.
Grace
I just made this, however, I decided to put 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut in the batter and the rest of the 1/4 cup of the coconut sprinkled on top of the glaze. It has the banana flavor with a hint of the tropics and so moist.
Kim Beaulieu
I love that you put your own spin on this. I'll have to try it your way. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it and am so happy you liked the recipe.
Jill Baird
Sweet Breads are my favorite things to bake! I can't wait to try this one too! Thanks for another great recipe!
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much Jill.