Pineapple Bread
Well I was in Pittsburgh last week visiting friends and had the most wonderful time there. We visited falling water (the house designed by Frank Wright). It was lovely, and the property was lovely as well. I got more than my fair share of butterfly pictures on the grounds. We did eat at a wonderful Caribbean place and I visited a chocolate shop that makes all their own chocolate they also sell a lot of cadbury’s chocolate but the did not have cadbury’s chocolate spread.
On to this weeks recipe which has nothing to do with my trip. I have not made bread in a while and thought I would make a few loaves. I decided on two different ones. Here is the first one. Its with Pineapple, haha – yes I love pineapple and coconut goes so well with it – that is what happens when you always have coconut flakes hanging around the house.
A little tip here – if you are like me and never have butter sitting at room temperature waiting to be whipped to become part of an exciting treat then this is what you can do. If you butter is in the refrigerator take it out, cut it into cubes. Place on a microwave plate and microwave in short bursts of 2-3 minutes. Test after every try to see if when you press down on a cube it gives fairly easily. It should not take you more than 3 tries to get it softened. You are now ready to use your softened butter.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut plus some
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 cup heaped pineapple chunks
Method
Sift the flour, baking soda together into a bowl, drizzle in the salt and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. This takes me about 4-5 minutes on my stand mixer. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat them well into the batter. Each egg should be completely incorporated before you add the next egg. The batter will be quite runny after the last egg. If you stand mixer does not have the scraper attachment make sure you scrape down the bowl after each addition. Add the one tablespoon of milk and beat just a tad to incorporate.
Now add a third of the flour, beat the mixture till it incorporated then add half of the sour cream and beat until incorporated. Repeat this once and then end with the last third of the flour. Fold in the pineapple and the one cup of coconut flakes. Pour the batter into your loaf pan (Note: I use silicone pans so I do not butter or line the pans. If you are using metal pans, lightly butter them. You may also line them if you wish). Smooth the top of the batter and drizzle the rest of the coconut flakes over the top. This will create a nice crunchy texture.
Bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove and transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. If you are not going to finish it the same day (who would not!) you can wrap it in parchment paper and then put it in a plastic bag into the refrigerator.
An Occasional Tart 