I am sucker for a good deal especially when it comes to baking ingredients. An innocent trip to Costco made me proud owner of a 2kg bag of shredded coconut for the attractive price of $4.79. How could I say no? Of course the bag is ridiculously heavy and I have no reason to go through so much coconut. But I couldn’t help myself. This is why you’re greeted by yet another coconut dessert.
It wasn’t just coconut that I had in abundance. As luck would have it, I had spotty bananas and full fat buttermilk begging to be used too. It was inevitable that I made Coconut Banana Bundt Cake with Malibu Icing.
I always feel guilty when I bake banana cake and not share it with Little Brother. That is his favourite dessert after all. Right now, I am experiencing major guilt. I let the cake aged for a couple days so the flavour improved multi-fold. We were both home during the weekend and stared constantly at the cake. Miraculously, neither of us even laid a finger on it. My cake aged in peace to moist tender perfection, redolent with the sweet tropical taste of coconut and bananas. When the weekend was over, Little Brother left without asking me once about the cake that tempted us for over 48 hours.
I glazed the cake with coconut rum icing and topped with a crown of toasted coconut. It echoed the ingredients of the Bundt cake without taking over centre stage. I love the majestic look of the finished cake and happily brought it to the office. When the 3 o’clock craving hit, I ate a slice and a wave of guilt washed over me. It was the banana cake of dreams, exactly the way Little Brother likes it. That one cup of toasted coconut I folded into the batter added just the right touch of toothsome texture. Coconut and bananas are meant to be together, the same way that this banana cake and Little Brother are meant to be together. And I snatched that opportunity from him.
Fortunately, I have every reason to give my adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s recipe an encore. You can also find the original recipe in Baking From My Home To Yours. It will be some time before any birthday celebration in my family but I already know what to make for our next birthday cake. A cake that should be made ahead of time and keeps well? Perhaps I shouldn’t even wait until birthday. Any day is a cause for celebration with a cake a delicious as Coconut Banana Bundt!
