Coconut, Strawberry And Macadamia Loaf

I love to bake, but prefer to make simple, everyday cakes, slices and biscuits that I can indulge in every day. Sometimes the super rich, fancy treats can be a bit too much. Plus, they don't really last, so unless we're having a dinner party, I tend to avoid making them. I'm really the only sweet-tooth in the house as well, so if I make something sweet, I end up eating the whole thing. Not great for the waistline!

With strawberries being so cheap and beautiful at the moment, I couldn't resist coming up with a recipe to use them. I'll still probably make up a couple of batches of strawberry jam for Christmas presents and maybe a cheesecake, but this loaf was lovely.

It's quite a dense loaf, due to the coconut, but would be perfect as an indulgent breakfast or morning tea, toasted and then topped with whipped ricotta and a few fresh strawberries. Yum! Straight out of the oven, it tasted pretty good too.

The strawberries add nice little bursts of sweetness and flavour and the finely chopped macadamias a bit of crunch. 

My breakfast and morning tea for the week is definitely sorted. :-)

Coconut, Strawberry and Macadamia Loaf

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups of milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

70g butter

2 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon 
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1 cup strawberries, chopped


Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Grease a 13x23cm loaf tin.

In a small bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla essence.

In another small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave in 20 second bursts and allow to cool slightly. 

Whisk the cooled butter into the egg mixture. 

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon.

Add sugar, coconut and macadamia nuts.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir gently until all combined, but don't over mix.
Gently stir through the strawberries.

Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean. If it seems to be browning too quickly, cover the top loosely with some foil.
Leave to cool slightly in the tin and then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Serve as is or cut into thick slices and toast.

Enjoy!