Bill’s Jamaican coconut bread

Sydney-siders will know all about him, and some hip city folk might have heard him; I’m talking about Bill Granger. That man-child food-wizard who has made his career on sensational scrambled eggs. Of course there are a more strings to his bow, but his eggs really are good. I think a meal passes the test when you’re willing to drive into town and cope with the stress of parking and finding a table, which I had done many times in Sydney. The bad-ass of breakfasts, Bill also makes fabulous corn fritters and a decadent coconut bread that comes toasted and spread with butter.

This is Jamaican Coconut Bread is Bill’s recipe, and it’s simple and yields a dense and weighty loaf that freezes well (in slices of course) and toasts up beautifully for a breakfast of champions. I have used both coconut milk and cow’s milk and could not really tell the difference, so all you really need to check is that you’ve plenty of desiccated coconut in the cupboard, the rest you’ll probably have.

Coconut bread recipe

Ingredients:
2 eggs
300 ml coconut milk (or plain milk)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 ½ cups of plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup caster sugar
150 g shredded/desiccated coconut
75 g butter, melted

Oven 180C

Method:
Lightly whisk eggs, milk and vanilla together.
Mix all the dry ingredients into a separate bowl to combine.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, do NOT over mix or you’ll get a stodgy loaf.
Pour into a greased/lined loaf tin and bake until it’s golden and cracked on the top – about an hour – but keep your eye on it.