tomato_kumato

I got Bill Granger’s coconut bread recipe care of Luisa at the Wednesday Chef, and I have to say, it’s incredible. I’ve had these photos lying around for a really long time… I kind of forgot to post about this, and now that it’s been so long, I don’t really remember the circumstances of it, except that this was amazing and the Canadian and I fought over the last little bit.

All I remember is that I subbed white sugar for superfine, and that I used the same shredded, unsweetened coconut that Luisa did. The way I made it, it’s not terribly coconutty… kind of in the way that zucchini bread doesn’t really taste like zucchini. In my opinion, the dominant taste was the cinnamon (that could be because I added a bit more than I was supposed to… I also added nutmeg and cloves, but I’m into improvising like that.) This would be a good bread to make even for someone who thinks they don’t really like coconut… the only problem being that you sometimes get a strand or two in the bread. I don’t really know where I’m going with this, so I’m going to stop. Coconut bread=good. End of story. Go make it.

Oh, also, if you’re feeling very, very bad, toast a slice of this bread and spread it with some really good, unsalted European butter. It’s divine.

I have a habit of undercooking baked goods. OK, scratch that. I have a habit of undercooking everything. I’ve undercooked steak. I’ve undercooked ahi tuna. That takes a lot of skill and dexterity.

I guess I’ve just always been fairly convinced that there is nothing worse than something that is burned or overcooked. A gray steak has absolutely no appeal, no matter how succulent the filet cut was to begin with. The actual application of heat is everything, and I’d rather pull out a quickbread that’s a little doughy in the center than one with a crumb like styrofoam and a crust like cardboard.

But not this time. No, sir. I just tried the Pumpkin Pound Cake over from Desert Culinary. (Sidebar: I love this blog. I just discovered it a while back, and I feel like I’ve been missing out. I’ve already made two recipes from it–the other will be up here soon–and I can’t wait to make more!)

The cake came out perfectly. After about thirty minutes, the house smelled just like pumpkin, and I desperately wanted to peek, but I just sat at my computer reading my other food blogs and waiting. And waiting. Until the dreaded fifty minutes were up and I peeked. I checked with a toothpick. And then, something unheard of. Without cutting into the cake, I put it back in the oven.

I know. It’s a milestone for me. But when the cake came out ten minutes later, after a total baking time of one hour, I knew it was worth it. The Canadian and I have been snacking on this cake all week, and it is divine. Sweet, but not too sweet, spicy, moist and delicious. And not in the least undercooked.

I made a few changes:

1. As you can tell from the pictures, I skipped the buttermilk glaze. I wasn’t using real buttermilk in the cake anyway (I soured my own milk with lemon), so it didn’t seem worth it. The cake didn’t suffer.

2. I used light brown sugar, because the box was opened. It had started to clump a bit, but try as I might, I couldn’t get some of the smaller clumps to… un-clump. But it actually worked to my advantage: see those little pockets of dark brown sweetness? There were several floating throughout the cake, and they were a welcome surprise. I may have to do it again on purpose next time.

3. I didn’t dry the pumpkin on paper towels first. I’m lazy. It didn’t matter much.

4. I subbed the spices listed for a four spice powder sold here in France made up of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and cloves. It’s easy. I’m lazy.

5. I used all all-purpose flour.