Simple Banana Coconut Bars 
Moist and cake-like, Simple Banana Coconut Bars are perfect when you want banana bread with a little more.
HERE'S ALL IT TAKES
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, omit if using salted butter
Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease 8x8x2-inch pan with cold butter.
Mix sugar, bananas, melted butter, and eggs in large bowl with spoon. Stir in pecans and coconut. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients all at once.
Spread batter in pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Carefully invert pan onto cake plate and allow it to cool upside down, until cake naturally falls out of pan onto plate. If it doesn't fall out naturally, tap the bottom of the pan until it loosens. Allow it to cool completely and quickly in the refrigerator before adding frosting. Cooling in the refrigerator helps it to retain the cake's moisture. It only takes 20 minutes or so.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon real Maple syrup
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
Mix cream cheese and Maple syrup in a medium bowl. Gradually stir in powdered sugar with a fork until smooth and spreadable.
Keep leftover bars refrigerated, if they're frosted with cream cheese frosting.
First time to ur beautiful site…Your dish looks amazing and delicious! I love it… Wish i had this today and I will try this… Thanks
Thank you, Sangeeth! This recipe is so good, I’ve baked it TWICE this week. I kid you not. The first pan went faster than I was ready to be finished eating it. So, I made another pan. It’s in the frig now, waiting for me.
If I use regular sweetened coconut, (I have it on hand) should I back off the sugar slightly?
Thanks this really looks and sounds almost tropical. Have you ever added lime zest?
AmyRuth
Hi Amy!
No, I wouldn’t back off. This is not an overly sweet dessert. Well, the frosting is sweet, but not the cake.
I haven’t tried lime zest, yet. ;D
I was thinking of adding in a little crushed pineapple, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup?
I’d like to turn this recipe into mini-Hummingbird cake-bars.
Doesn’t that sound good?
Hi! Just wanted to let you know this passed the quality inspection team here at the farm;) Sandra says it is a do-over recipe. I even got a little heavy handed with the frosting and was told it wasn’t a problem…. Oh, and she got a second piece and blamed it on the dog!
Susan and Sandra
StarDragonfly Herbals
Now THAT’S funny! Those ol’dogs, you gotta watch’em. Their notorious for gobblin’up cake, ice cream, and fudge cut way too small.
This is a great recipe. I did add 1/2 c crushed pineapple and used brown sugar and it came out wonderful. I didn’t have any cream cheese in the fridge, so I used some cheese style yogurt mixed with vanilla and confectioners sugar and it made a nice glaze.
Looking forward to trying the cream cheese frosting next time.
This looks sooo good. I love banana bread and that icing is to die for.
Hi Jayne!
That icing is completely wonderful! I’ve used it on zucchini bread and made it a glaze to drizzle over pumpkin cookies.
Oh yeah, it’s good.
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Hello,
Just wanted to tell you how much I love your site and your recipes.
I tried this one on my family and added raisins because I love them and it turned out great!
Even my very criticizing boyfriend gave a “thumbs up” while gobbling another piece.
Hope to try more of your recipes soon.
Thank you, Dana. I’m so glad this recipe worked for you and your boyfriend.
I didn’t think to put raisins in these bars. I always keep a box of golden raisins in the pantry. I’ll have to toss in a handful with the next batch.
Thanks for the tasty idea!