Coconut Bread (Trinidad And Tobago) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 cups sweetened flaked coconut (10 ounces)
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F.
Butter and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, knocking out excess flour.
Spread 3 cups coconut in a large shallow baking pan (at least 1-inch deep) and toast in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until evenly golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (Watch flakes carefully; edges burn quickly.).
Remove from oven and cool completely in pan on a rack, about 15 minutes. Leave oven on.
In a food processor, grind toasted coconut to a coarse meal (about 40 seconds). You will have about 1 1/4 cups.
In a mixing bowl stir together self-rising flour, ground coconut and remaining cup of un-toasted coconut.
In another mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar at medium speed until pale and creamy (1-2 minutes).
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Whisk the water into the flour mixture, then add egg mixture, whisking just until well blended.
Pour batter into loaf pan, smoothing top with a spatula, and bake in the middle of the oven until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and top is evenly brown (1 hour - 1 hour and 10 minutes.)
Cool bread to warm in the pan on a rack for 10-15 minutes. then turn out of pan and set right side up on rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.
Cut into 1-inch thick slices.