Banana Bread with Coconut Brown Sugar Topping

Banana bread is one of my favorite quick and easy cakes to make when I’m going to have friends over for coffee, brunch or just when I have a bunch of over-ripe bananas.

Last week my husband came home with a bag of ripe bananas that the supermarket next door was selling for $2.  So what could I do but bake 3 loaves of banana bread (and still have leftover bananas for banana pancakes for breakfast. Yummy!). Though I usually make my banana bread from scratch, I had bought a box of  Chiquita Banana Bread mix a while back, and this was a perfect opportunity to test it.

All you will need for this mix is 2 bananas, 1 egg and water. How easy is that?  The bread mix is really good, and the cake turned out very delicious and moist. It costs around $3 and it’s totally worth it. This could be a great recipe to make with kids, they always have a lot of fun helping mash the bananas.

Mash the bananas and mix all the ingredients together on low until they are all mixed and wet. Then pour the batter into a greased and floured 9×5-inch loaf pan (I used a Circulon pan, and by the second batch I realized that I don’t even need to grease this pan at all. Love love love Circulon pans!) Bake for 55 minutes in a 350°F pre-heated oven.

Plain banana bread is great, but why not bring it to the next level of deliciousness.  Here’s my added touch that makes people’s mouths water.

Coconut and Brown Sugar Topping:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix everything and spread on the top. Broil for 2-4 minutes.

According to my husband, the only way to eat it is warm with a little butter, and a big glass of milk. Enjoy!