Christmas

Caribbean Sweet Bread

by:
July 27, 2015
4.3
7 Ratings
Photo by Mireille
  • Serves 16
Author Notes

This is a traditional recipe in most Caribbean islands. It's always made for Christmas and sometimes other holidays and special occasions like Easter, birthdays, etc. My mom is from Aruba and my grandmother is from Dominica, so I can't say exactly which island this family recipe is from, but the recipe is pretty similar from island to island.
The consistency is truly unique - halfway in between a bread and a cake. —Mireille

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup tutti frutti/ candied fruit
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 2 cups dessicated grated coconut (don't use the sweetened, flaked stuff)
  • 6 glace cherries, garnish
  • 1 tablespoon sugar, garnish
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray 2 loaf pans with non stick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon ginger and cloves.
  3. In a small bowl, beat butter, sugar, milk, egg and vanilla until well combined.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.
  5. Using a rubber spatula, fold in tutti frutti, raisins and coconut until thoroughly combined.
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans and smooth out the top into an even layer. Decorate each loaf with 3 glace cherries each, placed at even intervals.
  7. Bake in oven for 45 minutes.
  8. Combine the tablespoon of sugar with 1 tablespoon water. Stir to combine. Spread on top with a pastry brush.
  9. Return to oven and bake for another 3 minutes.
  10. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Let the loaves cool completely before slicing.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

1 Review

cameron June 5, 2019
this was a very good recipe and I had done this as a side to a Caribbean twist to an English wedding for my GCSE catering final practical exam.

thank you for uploading this dish.
Cameron.