Jamaican Banana Bread

*I'm back, yeah! We moved on Saturday and it has been quite an ordeal! I hope I don't have to move again for a LONG time! We just bought our first place and it's been fun decorating a little as I unpack things. I still have about half of our stuff left to unpack but I'm tempted to just toss it, this is really tiring.

This is the last recipe I had saved to post while we were in transition. Hopefully I'll be up and cooking here soon. I think I've cooked 1 or 2 times in the past week and I'm ready to get back to my kitchen.


Oh how I love my Cooking Light cookbook. I think it's my favorite ever. I don't think I've made anything from it that I didn't like. This banana bread is no exception! I actually saw this pop up on another blog and it reminded me that I already had this recipe. I wasn't sure about the flavor combinations at first but it looked too good to pass up and I had bananas that were screaming banana bread! I figured it would be good because my two most favorite banana bread recipes, classic banana bread and banana chocolate chip bread, are from Cooking Light.

I could not wait to cut into the bread after it was done. I was pleasantly surprised. This bread is so soft and fluffy and the lime glaze keeps it moist for days!

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. grated lime rind
2 tsp. lime juice
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt or lite sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. flaked sweetened coconut, divided
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment, add sugar, butter, lime rind and 2 tsp. lime juice; beat until well blended. Add egg and beat well. Add banana, yogurt/sour cream and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/4 cup coconut.

Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 tablespoon coconut. Bake at *350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. If you are using a dark, non-stick pan, reduce the heat to 325 and cook 10-15 minutes longer, checking for doneness about every 5 mintues after 60 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.


SOURCE:Adapted from Cooking Light