Nectarine & Almond Banana Bread

Nectarine & Almond Banana Bread

Just a quick post on a variation of my recent Healthy Banana Bread recipe! Since nectarines are currently in season, all plump, sweet, and beautiful, I decided to incorporate this summer fruit into my banana loaf. Here are the alterations I made to the banana bread recipe linked above:

1. Leave out the shredded coconut
2. ½ tsp vanilla and ½ tsp almond extract
3. 1 nectarine (or peach), divided. Dice ¾ of the fruit and slice the last ¼ into super thin slices for topping the loaf.
4. 1 tsp of cinnamon, or more, if you love cinnamon like me :P
5. Instead of toasted walnuts, use ¼ toasted almonds. Either whole almonds chopped into smaller chunks or sliced almonds. Now don't be like me and toast your sliced almonds but forget to fold them in until the loaf is already in the oven.... Fail Coconut Crumpet, fail..

Nectarine & Almond Banana Bread

Sound yummy to you? I promise you this will be the best banana bread recipe ever, the one and only banana bread recipe you'll need. Endless types of banana bread can be created with this healthy base batter. Mix in different nuts, chocolate, fruit, and flavours to create your dream banana bread. I'm thinking of adding raspberries to this variation to make a Peach Melba banana bread! Sounds so cute~

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

As I was searching the internet for baking inspiration, I came across the To Die For Lemon Loaf. The description made me drool: "organic coconut, organic millet, coconut milk and the juice of fresh organic lemons", totally a loaf made in heaven for Coconut Crumpet! Hunting down a slice on my next trip Downtown was immediately put on my to-do list, but I can't wait that long and had to formulate one for myself.

This recipe was created by me, based on a bajillion different lemon loaf recipes I researched. Many lemon loaf recipes call for a mere 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Nononono, that's not enough lemon-ness for me! In my recipe, I added a heaping third cup of lemon juice; that should do the 'lemon' part of its name justice. Also, being Coconut Crumpet, it's important that the coconut flavour shines through too. Coconut oil adds a fabulous aroma, but doesn't contribute much to the tastebuds' experience. Shredded coconut also doesn't add flavour, but gives texture and fragrance (if it's been toasted!) The coconut flavour comes mainly from the rich and thick coconut milk. Not the kind that you get in tetra boxes that substitutes cow's milk in your cereal bowl every morning. The kind that comes in a can. It's much too heavy in calories to drink, but it works wonders to enrich cooking. I recommend you use one similar to Rooster Brand's Gold Label Coconut Milk. 

This recipe is definitely Rachel-ified since it's low in sugar and only made with a small amount of healthy fats. Don't worry, it won't sabotage your diet. I'm very thankful that this loaf actually worked; the loaf came out tall and cooked in the time I predicted. Besides the fact I overdid it with maybe more than 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds and my splash of vanilla was slightly too much, the flavour and texture of the resulting loaf is wonderful! Not too sweet, prominent meyer lemon taste, a bit of a crunch from the toasted coconut shreds and poppy seeds, richness from the coconut milk, and even moistness throughout the loaf...mmm~ It was the perfect way to use up the last three meyer lemons sitting my fridge. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my taste test of this loaf during school today. Once I get a hold of a real slice of To Die For Lemon Loaf, I shall make necessary adjustments to make this even better. So...without further ado, I proudly present to you (that rhymed!), Coconut Crumpet's interpretation of the To Die For Lemon Loaf! 

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

By Coconut Crumpet and inspired by Erin Ireland's To Die For Lemon Loaf

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• Zest of 2 meyer lemons
• 5 tbsp coconut oil, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ⅓ cup meyer lemon juice
• 1 ½ tbsp poppy seeds
• ¼ cup unsweetened medium shredded coconut, toasted
• Large flaked shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In a custard cup, gently toss lemon zest in sugar to draw the oils from the peel out.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together coconut oil and sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
5. Add coconut milk,lemon juice, and poppy seeds to wet mixture and stir until well combined.
6. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and fold until halfway combined. Add toasted coconut and continue to fold until just combined. 
7. Pour into prepared pan and top with large flaked coconut.
8. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick check comes out with moist crumbs. Broil on high heat for about 3 minutes at the end to achieve a golden brown top crust. 

 Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Purple Sweet Potato Loaf...That's Green!

I am a firm supporter of eating a rainbow of food. Whole foods to be exact. Not only does it make any dish look more appealing and impressive, it's also an effective way of consuming many essential nutrients. It's easy to incorporate reds and greens, oranges and yellows. But what about blue and purple? Those two colours are probably the hardest to even find.

Purple Sweet Potato

Mango Coconut Mac-nut Bread

Mango Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread and the star ingredients

We have been experiencing near 30 degree weather; summer is near, summer is near! As you may already know, my mood is heavily influenced by the weather. Sunny days make me very happy, which aids me through a week of tests at school. On weekends, it is my time to relax and take a break.

A weekend is not complete without doing some baking (but it can be complete without studying biology...-guilty-). This loaf is my attempt at packing Hawaii into a pan. Hawaii is truly paradise, and I am eager to return there. But for now, this loaf will have to do. 

The "To-Die-For" Banana Bread

Before I begin this post, I would like to clarify that the recipe below has been originally modified to develop a flavor similar to that of the true "To-Die-For Banana Bread" by Erin Heland. In other words, this is NOT the authentic "It's to Die For" Banana bread recipe. 

For details, please visit http://itstodiefor.ca/