Nutritious & delicious: Caribbean-inspired exotic fruit breads

One of my favorite as well as easiest cakes to bake is the banana bread. Originating from America, this is actually a loaf-shaped cake. I have been baking it for quite a few years now, so I have reached a point that I have tweaked the original recipe quite a lot (in an attempt to make it healthier and guilt-free). Inspired by the delicious desserts and the exotic fruit I had whilst in Martinique (a small French island in the eastern Caribbean Sea), I decided to tweak it once more and make it a bit more exotic.

Healthy tweaks

The original recipe starts with beating butter and sugar until light and fluffy. For years, I had been doing just that, until I became more conscious about the amount of sugar in my diet, so I substituted it with honey. (In case you want to make similar substitutions yourselves, be mindful that there are several ingredients that need adjusting). At the same time, I decided to also substitute the butter with Greek extra-virgin olive oil.

Another substitution I made was replacing the all-purpose flour (some recipes call for self-raising flour) with the less-processed wholegrain wheat flour. The latter has several nutritional advantages over the white flours: it contains more fiber, vitamins and minerals (such as selenium, manganese, phosphorus, copper, and folate), and has a lower glycemic index (GI). A diet rich in fiber has a number of health benefits: it can help prevent or relieve constipation, control weight, lower cholesterol and even reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer. The glycaemic index (GI) is a rating system for foods containing carbohydrates; it shows how quickly each food affects the blood sugar (glucose) level when that food is eaten on its own. Foods with lower GI are considered healthier than those with higher GI.

I also decided to substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt. When I later discovered kefir (a fermented milk drink which is not only rich in nutrients, such as protein, calcium and vitamins, but it also contains probiotics), I made yet another substitution. By now, my American recipe had become quite Greek (and much healthier too).

Exotic tweaks

Coming back from Martinique, it was time to give it a more exotic, Caribbean twist. So, I substituted the olive oil with coconut oil, and the kefir with coconut milk. Since the acidic element went out of the mix, I had to add a bit of lime juice (unless you use baking powder, which contains baking soda and acid, the extra acid is needed for the baking soda to help the loaf rise). And, of course, I added some rum too.

Alex’s Caribbean-inspired exotic banana and coconut bread

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (70 grams) coconut oil
• ½ cup honey
• 2 eggs – at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup wholegrain wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A few drops of rum (optional)
• Desiccated coconut

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with baking paper.
2. In a bowl, beat the coconut oil and the honey until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition.
4. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and beat gently until just combined.
5. Blend bananas, coconut milk, lime juice, vanilla extract and rum. Add to the butter mixture and beat gently until just combined.
6. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and cover with tin foil. Remove the tin foil halfway through the bake. Bake for 60-70 minutes until the cake is deep golden brown and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean. Set aside for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
7. Sprinkle desiccated coconut on top of the loaf.

Alex’s Caribbean-inspired banana and papaya bread

Considering that it is quite easy to get hold of papayas in London (which I only realized after I came back from Martinique), I decided to tweak the above recipe once more.

Ingredients:

Same as for banana and coconut bread, except for the fruit:

• 1 very ripe banana
• 250 grams de-seeded papaya chunks (seeds removed)

Method:

The method is the same as for the banana and coconut bread. Blend the papaya chunks together with the banana and the wet ingredients (coconut milk, lime juice, vanilla extract and rum).

Alex’s Caribbean-inspired guava bread

Finally, I decided to bake with one of my favorite exotic fruits: guava. At the same time, I’m also letting the bananas go!

Ingredients:

Same as for banana and coconut bread, except for the fruit:

• 400 grams de-seeded guava chunks (there are no bananas in this cake)

Method:

The method is the same as for the banana and coconut bread. Blend the guava chunks with the wet ingredients (coconut milk, lime juice, vanilla extract and rum).

Further reading:

There are so many banana bread recipes out there. In ‘How to cook perfect banana bread’, Felicity Cloake discusses the differences arising without going too technical.

To read more about the health benefits of fiber and wholegrain wheat flour click here and here.

If you want to know more about the glycemic index (GI), click here.

To read more about Martinique, check out my post ‘7 reasons to fall in love with Martinique’.

For original and exotic recipes from Martinique and Guadeloupe, check out Vanessa Bolosier’s book Creole Kitchen: Sunshine Flavors from the Caribbean

For my nutritious and delicious smoothies, check out my post ‘Kefir smoothies: easy-to-make, nutritious & delicious’.

If you prefer baking with citrus fruits, check out my post ‘Recipe: Alex’s portokalopita (orange pie)’.

To follow my travels around the world, simply subscribe to the Traveling Psychiatrist (just click on the menu on the left hand side).

Bon appétit!

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)