If you’re ever in Sydney, Australia, there is a breakfast place in Darlinghurst called bills. The name is simple, and the place serves simply some of the best food I’ve ever had. When you order coffee, the waiter brings out small plates of warm toasted coconut bread freshly dusted with powered sugar. After one bite, my girlfriend and I decided to go back for breakfast every morning for the rest of our trip. This bread really holds up if you wrap it in plastic or put it in a storage container. You’ll still be snacking on it days later.

　　

Ingredients

serves 8 to 12

　　

Coconut Bread

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan

　　3 cups all-purpose flour

　　1 tablespoon baking powder

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　1 cup brown sugar, packed

　　2 eggs, lightly beaten

　　1 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

　　1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

　　1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, toasted

　　Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

　　

Pineapple Butter

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

　　1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan with butter. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another large bowl, whisk together the melted butter with the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Pour in the coconut milk and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold everything together with a spatula until you have a smooth batter. Gently fold in the shredded coconut until evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and set it on a cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the bread. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning. Cool the bread in the pan for 20 minutes or so; then when cool enough to handle, remove the coconut bread to a cutting board and let it cool completely before slicing.

　　

Step 2

Press the liquid out of the crushed pineapple using the back of a spoon. (If there is too much juice, the fruit will separate from the butter.) In a small bowl, mash the pineapple with the softened butter until well blended. A food processor is a quick alternative to making the compound butter, so use it if you have one. Mound the butter in a small serving bowl. Toast the slices of coconut bread, dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve with the creamy pineapple butter.

　　Cooks' Note

　　To toast the coconut: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the coconut on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, stirring it periodically. Toasting will fluff up the coconut and increase its volume (as well as make it taste better).

　　Reprinted with permission from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen by Tyler Florence. © 2003 Clarkson Potter