Saturday 20 July 2019

Hummingbird Loaf

I've still been baking, just not as much. After the wedding I had to have a couple of bouts of surgery on my back, which sort of kept me out of the kitchen. Moving back into normal life now, and back cycling, so calories are a must!

This is a modification of a cake from my favourite local cycling cafe.It's a more tropical version of banana bread, and can be had plain, or with a cream cheese topping (and if you want to give the topping a more caribbean feel, swap the butter in the cream cheese frosting for coconut oil (the solid sort)).

I've made this as 4 1lb loaves...I'm currently of a mood where this is a "good size". It serves ~6 people well, is easily transportable via a lunch-box sized container, and you can freeze the extras (wrap them in clingfilm and pop them in a frezer bag, then when you come to defrost them let it occur naturally, don't use a microwave). Also, if you are going to freeze them, obviously don't ice them!

Hummingbird Loaf - Recipe (makes 4 x 1lb loaf tin)

  • Preheat oven to 150-160'C
  • Grease and line 4 1lb loaf tins

Ingredients

  • 325ml sunflower oil
  • 450g self-raising flour
  • 3-4tsp (to taste) cinnamon powder
  • 400g caster sugar
  • 5 ripe bananas
  • 425g (1 tin) pinkapple pieces, in juice (this recipe is sweet enough already without syrup)
  • 3 eggs
  • 100g pecans
  • 90-100g coconut flesh (some supermarkets sell this as "prepared fruit")

1) Put the bananas in a stand mixer bowl, and mash them with a fork

2) Add the oil and eggs to the bananas

3) Drain the pineapple chunks, then add the chunks to the stand mixer bowl

4) Sieve the flour, cinnamon and sugar into a separate bowl

5) Place the coconut flesh and pecans in a food mixer with a blade attachment, and blitz until they are in chunky crumbs

6) Using a paddle attachment, mix the banana, pineapple, oil and eggs until smooth (apart from the pineapple bits obviously!)

7) Turn the stand mixer to very slow/fold mode (if it doesn't have one, do the rest by hand with a spatula, folding gently).

8) Add the chopped coconut and nut mixture

9) Add the flour, cinnamon and sugar, and fold until just combined

10) Pour/spoon the mixture into the 4 prepared tins evenly. It should be about 560-575g per tin

11) Place on a baking tray (makes it easier to take them out) and place in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Test with a skewer until it comes out clean

12) Cool completely on a wire rack, and then decorate or freze (or just eat!)
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