I had a pound of raw honey on top of the freezer, a bag of desicated coconut in the cupboard and a very ripe banana burning a hole in my freezer.  I was in a mood to bake, and then this Mango Honey and Banana Bread from Gel’s Kitchen Blog appeared in my reader.  Perfect!

I made it on Sunday, and it was a sucess.  The bread has a warm, coconutty flavor, further deepened by the honey.  The banana gives it just a touch of flavor and adds moistness.  This is not an overpowering banana bread.  The banana takes a back seat to the honey and coconut and helps round out the flavor.

I followed the recipe exactly except for the mango honey.  I did not have any (though now I simply must find some to try!), so instead I used a local apiary’s raw honey.  It is dark, thick, and rich.  It carries a strong flavor, and worked well in this bread.

It tastes great warm out of the oven, cooled in the next day’s lunch, or warmed with some butter melted over the top.  This is a recipe I’ll come back to over and over again!