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Coconut bake
Round, soft-crumbed Trini bread made with grated coconut and coconut milk, split and filled for breakfast
Coconut bake is a breakfast bread from Trinidad and especially Tobago, where it's baked on Sunday mornings in homes and village bakeries. It's a quick, unyeasted bread, rich with grated coconut and coconut milk and rubbed with butter, shaped into a round and baked until golden. It's split and buttered, and usually eaten with saltfish buljol; for a vegetarian breakfast, fill it with tomato choka, fried ripe plantain, sautéed bodi (long beans) or cheese. Chef's tip: rub the butter well into the flour and knead only briefly until the dough comes together. Overworking makes bake heavy and tight instead of soft and crumbly.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 375°F (350°F fan) and line a baking tray.
Step 2: Whisk 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt. Rub in 2 ⅛ oz cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then stir in 3 ½ oz freshly grated coconut.
Step 3: Pour in most of 1 ¼ cups coconut milk and mix with your hand to a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean, adding the rest only if needed.
Step 4: Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute only, until just smooth. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 5: Shape into a round about 2.5 cm thick and put it on the tray. Prick the top all over with a fork and brush with 1 tbsp milk.
Step 6: Bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden brown and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
33 minStep 7: Cool on a rack under a clean tea towel for 10 minutes to keep the crust soft, then cut into wedges, split and fill.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 370 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 55 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does coconut bake take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
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