Apricot and Coconut Cornbread

I used peanut oil in this recipe - if you have an allergy to peanuts, use coconut or sunflower oil instead. I also used milk.

Made with 100g of semi-dried apricots, 150g of coarse cornmeal, 50g of peanut oil (I weighed this in a bowl), 2 heaped teaspoonfuls of baking power, a pinch of salt, one egg, plus 150mls of milk (actually a low fat blend of milk and buttermilk, bought from the co-op).

The Apricots were chopped up with a sharp knife. The cornmeal was added and stirred together. I added the milk, the peanut oil, the salt, and the egg. Then I added the baking powder and the dessicated coconut (two teaspoonfuls). The mix was gently blended with an electric foodmixer for five minutes, at a medium speed.

I decanted the bread mix into a silicon bread tin. Cooked at 180 deg C for forty minutes on the middle shelf, until the bread had risen, and the surface had browned. Check the bread at 25 minutes, even if you are using an accurate oven thermometer.

The loaf can be knocked out of the bread tray without breaking or sticking (just turning it upside down is enough!).

 If you would prefer a sweeter loaf, you can add some granulated sugar before blending. Dissolve the sugar in the milk to make sure there are no crystals in the bread mix.

Excellent eaten with rhubarb and ginger jam!