Aloha Quick Bread — The Seventy-Eight-Days-Remaining Bake

Cody is on day five hundred and ninety-nine of his sentence. Seventy-eight days remaining. Mrs. Henderson’s son was in Honolulu again last week and sent her another small bag of macadamias. She brought half over to me Wednesday afternoon. The macadamias became the second tropical bake of the summer.

The recipe is aloha quick bread — a tropical quick bread with crushed pineapple, sweetened shredded coconut, and chopped toasted macadamias folded into the batter. Topped with a thin coconut glaze.

The math: a 20-oz can of crushed pineapple $1.99, a half cup of sweetened shredded coconut $0.50 worth, the macadamias free, flour, sugar, eggs, oil, baking powder, salt, vanilla. Total: about $4.20 for two loaves.

The technique is the quick-bread method — whisk dry, whisk wet, combine, fold in mix-ins, bake at 350 for fifty-five minutes. The pineapple keeps the bread tender and moist. The coconut adds chewy sweetness. The macadamias add buttery crunch.

I dropped one loaf at Mrs. Henderson’s. Mama and I ate the other loaf for breakfast and after-dinner snacks for four days.

The recipe is below. The trick is the canned pineapple — do not drain the juice; the juice goes into the batter and keeps the bread moist.

Aloha Quick Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 60 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. Mix wet ingredients. In a large bowl, combine mashed bananas, drained crushed pineapple, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Stir until well blended.
3. Add sugar. Stir the granulated sugar into the wet mixture until fully incorporated.
4. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
5. Fold together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently until just combined — do not overmix or the bread will be dense.
6. Add mix-ins. Fold in the shredded coconut and nuts if using.
7. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is deep golden brown.
8. Cool before slicing. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. (Or eat a warm slice at midnight. No judgment.)

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 280 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 43g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg