Banana Coconut Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, very loosely packed
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk (may use up to 1 cup milk)
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon coconut or banana extract

Instructions

1. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in sugar and mix well.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Combine salt, baking powder and flour in a bowl.
4. In a food processor or blender, purée coconut in milk. (Perhaps our grinder wasn't strong enough, but the coconut never got fluid enough to be mixed until we added more milk.)
5. Add bananas (we used only 2 because of the additional milk) or coconut mixture and process until bananas are also pureed.
6. Beginning with dry ingredients (flour mixture), add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with coconut puree and extracts. Begin with dry ingredients, end with dry ingredients. There should be four additions of dry ingredients, three additions of liquid ingredients. Mix well, but do not beat or stir too much.
7. Very lightly grease a tube pan. Line with wax paper.
8. Pour batter into a pan.
9. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
10. Cool thoroughly before removing from baking pan.

This cake tastes even better when left to sit for a couple of days.