coconut brown butter bread

My brother is getting married.  Or I should say, ONE of my three brothers is getting married.  Lincoln lives north of Pittsburgh, while the rest of our immediate family is back home in Seattle, so we’ve remained close as adults (read: I nag him into visiting on a regular basis, because I’m an awesome sister like that).  It’s been great to get to know my future sister-in-law, too, and I’m totally jazzed that they plan to continue living ‘close by.’  They may even move to Philly!  Closer and closer… *evil grin*

I went up to the bridal shower last weekend.  As a member of the wedding party, I was asked to provide items for the bridal tea.  I signed up for breads – they travel well, and I was taking the train.  I decided to bring my new standby, Cynthia’s Banana Bread, but I wanted to diversify a bit, too.  I searched the interwebs for chocolate breads, but I wasn’t inspired by anything… until I stopped by The Smitten Kitchen blog.  It’s not chocolate, but this recipe looked like just the right amount of unusual, perfect for a summery tea.

My brother and future sister-in-law

Coconut Brown Butter Bread (modified slightly from a Smitten Kitchen recipe)

INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups 2% milk


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder


1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup granulated sugar


1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and browned

Nonstick cooking spray for baking pan

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray, set aside.  Brown the butter in an omelette-sized pan, and then pour into a dish and let cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add butter, and stir until just smooth — be careful not to overmix.

Spread batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool in pan five minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Deb over at The Smitten Kitchen suggested that there’d be enough batter to make a couple of extra muffins, so the first time I tried this recipe, I split it between my regular loaf pan and a tiny disposable one.  Just my luck, the regular loaf was undersized.  I say you can put it all in one loaf pan, and if it rises high, so be it.  As for the flavor, it’s GREAT.  A real crowd-pleaser, and subtle enough for any palette.  It doesn’t taste very coconutty, so if that’s what you’re going for, maybe add a quarter teaspoon of coconut extract. 

Recommended for: a breakfast or midday snack when you want to try something a little out of the ordinary, and as a lovely tea bread (without chocolate or nuts).

Interested in other food-related items?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking!