So I had some leftover coconut milk after last week’s pumpkin curry, and I was NOT going to let it waste (it was light coconut milk so I also was concerned about freezing it). I wasn’t in the mood for another savory curry, I wasn’t making ice cream anytime soon, I don’t really do smoothies, I wasn’t planning to fire up the grill (coconut marinated chicken skewers?) …in my mind, when in doubt, go sweet.

I thought about the consistency of coconut milk. It’s really thick, so I was curious how it might substitute for buttermilk. So I went back to this basic muffin/sweet bread recipe I’ve been playing with, and subbed out the buttermilk for equal parts coconut milk. Inspired! This bread is so moist, and a little dense, almost like a pound cake (I do think that’s the buttermilk-to-coconut-milk sub). The coconut flavor is very subtle — but it’s there. I had grabbed mandarin oranges because they were in the pantry — they turned into little pops of juiciness throughout the bread — nice level of sweetness since the bread is only moderately sweet. Overall — a home run!

Mandarin Orange Coconut Bread, adapted from Heather Christo Cooks’ Lemon Blueberry Streusal Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons orange liqueur
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup mandarin orange sections, drained, juice discarded

Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare 9″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pan by spraying with baking spray, lining with a parchment sling, and spraying the sling with baking spray (see photo below). NOTE: Do not use a smaller pan — this produces a HIGH loaf even in this large bread loaf pan!

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt (I like to use the whisk from my stand mixer as a hand whisk for this). Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle beater, mix the butter, sugar, eggs, and orange liqueur until well combined.

STOP mixer. Dump in half of the dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated.
STOP mixer. Add the coconut milk and mix on low until incorporated.
STOP mixer. Add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and fold in the orange segments by hand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the loaf at 375F for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan, lower the heat to 350F, and cook another 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with only a few crumbs).

Allow to cool to at least WARM before slicing! I know you won’t be able to wait until room temperature, but if you slice too soon, it will crumble to bits (good for the dog, not so good for you).