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    Home / Breakfast and Brunch Recipes / Coconut Banana Bread with Red Bean Buttercream Frosting

    Feb 6, 2014 · Last Updated: Oct 31, 2021

    Coconut Banana Bread with Red Bean Buttercream Frosting

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

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    A quick and easy coconut banana bread.  Frosted with red bean buttercream for a festive Chinese New Year treat.     

    The first month of this year went by in such a whirl!  I've just realized that I'm so far behind on posting in 2014.  It's not that I haven't been cooking and developing recipes, but I've definitely gotten off a schedule of cooking either during the daylight hours, or cooking enough to save some to photograph the next day.

    Since Chinese New Year was last weekend, and I've been excited about it for months, I knew I had photograph something I was making for the celebration (before the sun went down or before Jonathan and I devoured it).

    Banana Coconut Bread with Red Bean Buttercream Frosting | the Worktop

    I was set to use red beans as an ingredient, since it's traditionally used in Chinese desserts and red colour symbolises good fortune.  A few years ago, I discovered this recipe for Nian Gao Cupcakes frosted with Red Bean Buttercream on The Cupcake Project.  I made it then, and loved it.  This year, I wanted to take the red bean buttercream frosting and top it on something new.

    Banana bread isn't traditionally a Chinese treat, but I thought bananas would serve as a good base for the red bean buttercream, and bring a nice muted fruitiness to the table.  The idea for the coconut came when I started thinking about how I could get some sweetness in the bread, but use less sugar that most banana bread recipes.

    Banana Coconut Bread with Red Bean Buttercream Frosting | the Worktop

    The recipe for the bread is very simple, and is based on this 10 Minute Banana Bread from The Fresh Loaf.  I split the batter in half and baked 2 mini loaves, so the bread would cook and cool faster.  If you look at the photo above, you'll see that the pans only look normal sized because the oven gloves are mini too!  While the bread was baking, I made the red bean buttercream, and chilled it in the refrigerator before frosting the banana breads.

    Banana Coconut Bread with Red Bean Buttercream Frosting | the Worktop

    Happy Chinese New Year!  Gong Xi Fa Cai!

    Coconut Banana Bread Recipe

    Makes 1 loaf or 2 mini loaves
    - 3 bananas, mashed
    - 60g unsalted butter, softened
    - 2 eggs
    - ⅓ cup sugar
    - ⅓ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
    - 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
    - ¾ teaspoon salt
    - ½ teaspoon baking soda
    - ¼ teaspoon baking powder

    Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease pan(s) with butter and lightly dust with flour.

    In a medium sized bowl, mix the butter, eggs, coconut and sugar together. Mix in the bananas. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

    Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake for about 30 minutes for the mini loaves, or 50 minutes for a regular sized loaf. The bread is done with a toothpick inserted into the middle of it comes out clean.

    Remove the pans from the oven and let the bread cool.  Once cooled, the bread should come out of the pan easily.  Allow the bread to fully cool before frosting.

    Red Bean Buttercream Frosting Recipe

    scale the recipe as needed
    - 30g unsalted butter, softened
    - ½ cup red bean paste
    - ½ cup powdered sugar

    Beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

    « Homemade DIY Mulling Spice Sachets
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    By Tina Jui
    Filed Under: Breads and Muffins, Breakfast and Brunch Recipes, Breakfast for a Crowd, Collections, Cooking Style, Kid Friendly, Lifestyle, Make Ahead, On The Go, Oven, Seasonal, Vegetarian, Winter Breakfast RecipesTags: bananas

    About Tina Jui

    A breakfast lover and food blogger. Tina develops everyday breakfast recipes on The Worktop, and writes about all things related to breakfast and brunch. Read more about Tina Jui or drop an email to say hi.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bonnie Eng says

      March 23, 2014 at 12:48 am

      Your site is awesome Tina! I love the baking culture in London…I'm in LA now, am so jealous! Happy to have found your site--look forward to your upcoming posts! =)

      Reply
      • Tina Jui says

        March 27, 2014 at 9:07 pm

        Hi Bonnie, thanks for stopping by! Yes, London is great, but I do miss LA and all the food there. Glad I found your site too - I've passed it to a few of my friends, and they all love it!

        Reply
    2. Jacqueline Meldrum says

      March 17, 2014 at 12:32 am

      Oh wow that looks amazing and I love your photos. I am so glad you joined in. A lovely blog discovery for me. Now, can I have a slice of that banana bread?

      Reply
      • Tina Jui says

        March 18, 2014 at 9:16 pm

        Love the challenge you host! Will definitely have to join in more regularly.

        Reply
    3. Nayna Kanabar (@SIMPLYF00D) says

      February 12, 2014 at 10:23 pm

      This looks really delicious and tasty.

      Reply
    4. Ala says

      February 12, 2014 at 9:01 pm

      What an awesome pairing! I never would have thought to spread a creamy red bean frosting on top of banana bread (or anything, really), but why not? This is a really fun twist. Pinned!

      Reply
      • Tina Jui says

        February 15, 2014 at 4:00 pm

        Thanks so much for visiting and pinning!

        Reply
    5. Laura | My Little Gourmet says

      February 11, 2014 at 11:42 am

      These little banana bread loaves look delicious. And I am very intrigued by the red bean buttercream frosting. I would never think to use beans in frosting, but what a great idea!

      Reply
      • Tina Jui says

        February 15, 2014 at 4:02 pm

        Thanks for visiting! The red bean frosting has a bit of a nutty taste, so surprisingly pairs really well with the banana loaves!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Tina and a lover of breakfast! The Worktop is where I share my everyday breakfast recipes. You can find lots of breakfasts and brunch ideas on my site. Many of the recipes are easy to make and healthy, but of course, you'll also find big brunch indulgences.

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