I love a good, traditional banana bread but when I came across this Brown Butter Banana Bread with Run & Coconut recipe I had to give it a try! A lot of people don't like coconut because they associate it with the sweetened shredded variety that is sold in every grocery store. It can be overwhelmingly sweet and cloying with very little real coconut flavor. This bread uses the natural unsweetened coconut flakes that can be found at health food stores and Whole Foods Market. These coconut flakes are thin and delicious with a delicate real coconut flavor that toasts up to perfection! I chose to toast all the coconut and incorporate it into the batter instead of sprinkling some on top before baking. Coconut burns really really quickly and I didnt want to take the chance with the exposed coconut burning before the bread finished baking.
Instead, I stirred all the coconut flakes into the batter and topped the loaf with some pearl sugar for a little decoration and crunch. I also added 1 teaspoon of rum extract and 1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract to the batter for a little extra flavor punch. Banana bread is such a great way to use up overripe bananas and this tropical twist on an old favorite is sure to please. Here is how you can make your own.
You can find the entire recipe here. Start by spraying a 9x5 inch loaf pan with Pam for Baking or grease and flour the pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is preheating, go ahead and toast the coconut. Set the toasted coconut aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat the butter until well browned and fragrantly nutty. Transfer browned butter into a bowl to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, 2 Tablespoon of good rum, yogurt, vanilla extract and I added 1 teaspoon of rum extract and 1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract. Whisk in the mashed bananas. Whisk in the cooled browned butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together until no pockets of flour remain. Fold in the coconut and transfer batter to prepared pan. Top with untoasted coconut if desired.
I topped my loaf with pearl sugar. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the cake rest in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. While loaf is cooling, brush the top with bit of rum. Let cool completely before serving.
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