How To Bake Trini Sweet Bread

It’s not Christmas Season in T&T without some freshly-baked Coconut Sweet Bread perfuming the house:

Yield: 1 Loaf

INGREDIENTS

1½ Cups Flour 1 Tsp Cinnamon Powder ½ Tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg ¼ Tsp Cardamom Powder (Elychee) 2 Tsp Baking Powder ¾ Cup Sugar 1 Dried Coconut Grated, (About 1 Cup) ¼ Cup plus 1 Tbsp Maraschino Cherries, Chopped (Squeeze to remove water) ¼ Cup Mixed Peel plus 1 Tbsp ½ Cup Raisins or Cranberries plus 1 Tbsp 2 Tbsp Chopped Almonds 4 Oz Marigold Margarine or ¾ Cup (Melted) ¾ Coconut Milk or Regular Milk 1 Egg ½ Tsp Vanilla Essence

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Prepare a loaf pan by greasing with Marigold Margarine liberally and dusting with flour to coat to bake the sweetbread in. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add in the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg powders, baking powder, sugar and grated coconut. Mix well to combine.

4. Place in the cherries, mixed peel and raisins ensuring to reserve the 1 tbsp from each of them. Drizzle on the almonds and mix well.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted margarine, coconut milk, egg and vanilla essence. Add this liquid to the dry ingredients and with a spatula, mix well to allow all ingredients to amalgamate to form a batter

6. Pour sweet bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Tap pan on the kitchen counter to allow the batter to settle and level out evenly. Drizzle on the reserved 3 tbsps of fruits atop the batter and sprinkle on 1 tbsp of sugar also.

7. Place sweet bread in the oven to bake for 60 minutes or until cooked through. This can be tested by inserting a skewer or knife into the middle of the bread. Once skewer or knife comes out clean – it is cooked.

8. Let cool for half hour then remove from loaf pan, slice and serve.