Banana Bread Recipe With Pineapple And Coconut
When you bake this Jamaican style banana bread, it’s not your grandma’s recipe! The flavor and texture remind us of the famous Hummingbird cake so beloved in the South. This dense, moist loaf with pineapple glaze and toasted coconut takes banana bread to a whole new level of yummy. I think you’ll go bananas when you taste it! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
A friend suggested my husband eat a banana every day to help prevent leg cramps. Inevitably, we had many brown-skinned bananas that were too ripe for eating. Because I am a very thrifty chick, these were peeled and put into freezer bags where they have accumulated to the point of, “I must do something with all these darn bananas!”
I made and gave away chocolate chip banana bread, daughter Beckie’s near-famous banana bread, strawberry-banana smoothies, and a delicious but labor-intensive banana cake. (We kept that one!) Ack! There were still bananas in the freezer!
What Tastes Good With Bananas
How To Make Jamaican Style Banana Bread
It was time to get creative! I was desperate to use up more frozen bananas! The first thing that came to mind was a tropical flavor profile, so I decided to try coconut and pineapple to make Jamaican style banana bread.
I started with daughter Beckie’s basic banana bread recipe and added one-half cup of crushed pineapple, squeezed dry, and one cup of sweetened coconut as I use in macaroons and coconut cream pie.
I often bake quickbreads like this in small and mini-size loaves for snacking or giving away, but this was an experiment. I wanted to ensure it baked nicely in a full-size nine-inch by five-inch loaf pan with no soggy bottom or center. The loaf came out of the pan with ease, and I thought it needed a gorgeous icing or glaze to give it some “zhuzh” or panache to this lovely loaf.
Aha! The juice from the crushed pineapple! I combined it with powdered sugar to make a glaze, and while I stirred that up, I toasted some coconut. I set the cooled loaf on a sheet of wax paper to corral the spillage and applied the first layer of glaze. While it was still wet, I sprinkled toasted coconut over the top. Finally, I drizzled on the second layer of glaze to “glue” the coconut in place. Success!
Isn’t it a thing of beauty? ❤ When the topping was set, it was sliced neatly into 16 slices. I chose to sample an end slice because they are so delightfully crisp. Yum! I moved the sliced loaf, wax paper, and all into a plastic cake container with a tight-fitting lid where it kept perfectly.
Jamaican style banana bread was a huge hit with the family, and now my head is spinning with all sorts of ideas to use up the rest of the bananas by baking some novel versions of banana bread. Oooh! Rum? Macadamia nuts? Nutella? The possibilities are endless!
Do you have a favorite banana bread recipe? Does yours use a unique ingredient like sour cream or yogurt in the batter? Do you sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar before you bake it? Do you butter your banana bread or spread it with cream cheese before you eat it? We’re dying to know a “bunch” more about how you give your banana bread “ap-peel!”
Printable Recipe:
Jamaican-Style Banana Bread
This Jamaican-style banana bread reminds us of the famous Hummingbird cake so beloved in the South. This dense, moist loaf with pineapple glaze and toasted coconut takes banana bread to a whole new level of yummy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter
- 2 eggs
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup sour milk (Put one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a half cup measure and fill with milk.)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, squeezed dry. Retain the juice.
- 1 cup sweetend flaked coconut
- Glaze
- 2 Tbsp reserved pineapple juice
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup sweetend flaked coconut, lightly toasted.
Instructions
- Grease a standard 9" by 5" loaf pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add eggs to sugar-butter mixture and beat until fluffy
- Add bananas, soda, salt, and vanilla and beat well.
- Alternately add flour and milk, beat until everything is well blended.
- Blend in the crushed pineapple and coconut.
- Pour batter into a greased 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer inserted in the tallest part of the loaf comes out clean.
- Allow loaf to cool.
- Stir together powdered sugar and pineapple juice.
- Lightly glaze loaf, then add the toasted coconut.
- Lightly glaze loaf again over the coconut.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share it on your social media! I would love for more people to try this delicious and easy-to-make dessert. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you! Shhh… Join our secret foodie group on Facebook.
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