Coconut Bread with Coconut Butter Icing
After many years of getting such a bad rap, coconuts are now one of the superstars of the health food world. Their high percentage of saturated fat was the main reason they were considered unhealthy.
However these same medium-chain saturated fats are the reason you should include coconut in your diet. Coconuts contain lauric acid, an essential fatty acid that enhances the immune system. They also contain calcium, iron and magnesium. The nourishing fats keep you full and can help to keep sugar cravings at bay. Hopefully you are all well and truly past the 'low fat' phase and embrace the nourishing fats in coconuts.
And of course - health benefits aside, eat them because they are delicious!
Coconut oil is ideal to cook with, as it has a high smoke point and doesn't change structure with heat. I often use this one. It is fair trade from Papua New Guinea and a the jar is very handy to re use once you've finished it.
Using coconut flour results in a more rustic, dense texture as opposed to light and fluffy. It soaks up a lot of liquid and little bit goes a long way. Coconut flour is simply dried and ground coconut pulp left over from making coconut milk.
I sweetened this one with brown rice syrup, but you could use coconut sugar or honey (but remember heating raw honey means you lose it's health benefits). You could even leave out the sweetener and use it more as a bread than a sweet loaf. This would be delicious toasted and served with butter, ghee or coconut butter.
The icing is based on coconut butter. This is simply shredded coconut blended into a paste. You can use the coconut butter alone, but I added a little coconut cream to make the texture a little more smooth. It doesn't really need to be sweetened as it already has its own sweetness. However add a little raw honey if you prefer it sweeter. If it's cold, the icing will set slightly which is nice!
Coconut bread
3/4 cup of coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup of coconut oil
6 eggs. Use free range from pasture fed hens.
1/2 tablespoon of brown rice syrup or coconut sugar
A pinch of salt
Coconut butter icing
A bag of shredded coconut
1/2 cup of coconut cream or coconut milk
Seeds of a vanilla bean or a small pinch of vanilla powder
Some raw honey to taste if desired
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Place the coconut flour and baking powder into a bowl and combine.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, coconut oil, brown rice syrup and salt.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Pour into a loaf tin lined with baking paper and cook at 180C for about 40 minutes.
While the loaf is cooking, make the icing.
To make the coconut icing, you need a pretty strong blender. A high speed blender like a Vita-mix is ideal. It will still work in a regular blender but will take a little longer and may not be quite so smooth. It is still delicious with a bit of a rough texture.
This works best to use the whole packet of shredded coconut in the blender as it needs to be quite full. Set the blender at its highest speed and blend until it has become a creamy consistency. It could take well over 10 minutes so be patient!
Once smooth enough for your liking, add the coconut milk/cream, vanilla and honey (if using) and whizz again to combine.
Once the loaf has cooled a little, pour the icing over and serve.
