During the month or so before Thanksgiving rolled by I thought of experimenting with healthier fat alternatives than my beloved standby, butter. I remembered hearing about coconut oil being the next best thing that is vegan/vegetarian friendly and most of the time, it tends to be organic.
Lo and behold, I’ve discovered Kelapo coconut oil. It’s arguably one of the best extra virgin coconut oil I’ve used by far. When I melt the hardened coconut oil (it tends to be when cold or at room temperature), the sweet, nutty scent of coconut perfumed my kitchen and its flavor is still retained when it’s baked and eaten the day after. Even it made my sweet potato puree that’s emulsified with melted coconut oil for my Thanksgiving dessert bread pretty damn awesome.
For a simpler dessert that doesn’t require a lot of work but some patience to bake, this coconut oil mixed berry pound cake should do the job. It’s lovely fragrance of coconut, ethereal spiciness of the nutmeg meshes well with the juicy, sweet-tart berries and crunchy granola topping.
Coconut Oil Mixed Berry Pound Cake
Closely adapted from The New York Times
Yield: 1 – 9×5 loaf cake
Ingredients
1/2 cup granola (homemade or store bought), for topping
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup milk
3 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries (any kind you like, but I used raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
2. Toss the berries with the tablespoon of flour. Set aside. Melt the coconut oil in a small pan. Pour it into a large bowl and whisk in the remaining sugar, milk, eggs and lemon zest.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Fold the dry ingredients and the berries into the wet ingredients to combine. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the granola on top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan. Cool completely before serving.
