Sunday bakes - Pina Colada bread

Since we are currently experiencing a mini heat wave this weekend (and I have a few over ripe bananas) I thought I would go for a tropical feel for this week’s bake, ambitious though that may be in February. 

Ingredients

140g butter, softened, plus extra for the tin

140g caster sugar

2 large eggs

180g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

350 grams Pineapple cut into chunks

Desiccated coconut to sprinkle on top

Brown sugar to sprinkle on top

Method

Cream the sugar and butter together until fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one by one before stirring in the mashed bananas and the chopped pineapple. Sift in the flour and the baking powder and stir thoroughly.

Pour into a tin and top with brown sugar and the coconut.

Bake for 40 minutes at 180. 

Sunday bakes - Coconut cardamom cookies

A while ago I tried some Iranian cookies that someone had brought into work. They were little and sticky but delicious. Of course, it took a few before I could work out the ingredients, can’t just do that from one, no no. It was the condensed milk that I wasn’t sure about.

They were really lovely so I have attempted my own approximation, these ones are less sticky with condensed milk but still have all the flavours that I remember. Just to bring something new to the table, and because I thought the texture needed it, I have dipped them in dark chocolate. 

Ingredients

300grams desiccated coconut

1 tin of condensed milk

10 cardamom pods, split with the seed scraped out and worked until they are a fine powder

4 egg whites

180grams dark chocolate

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and work until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the mixture into heaped circles on a sheet of baking paper and cover they tray with another piece of baking paper, the coconut can easily catch and burn. The mixture will fluff up a little so don’t place them too close together. 

Put in the oven on low for 20 minutes.

Leave the cookies on the paper to cool. It will be easier to peel them off later and you are less likely to leave half of them stuck to the paper.

Once they have cooled heat some dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.

Dip the cookies in the dark chocolate and leave to cool on a fresh sheet of baking paper.

If you want the cookies to be a little more sticky then reduce the number of egg whites and the cooking time.