Tea Room Recipe #30 - Waioli Tea Room (Honolulu, Hawaii)

I hadn't made a good old tea bread in a while, so this week a recipe I found in a 1974 tea room cookbook sounded awfully good, this Mango Bread.

The cookbook is the "Waioli Cook Book II," compiled by the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary of Honolulu and the Waioli Tea Room Restaurant. Still in business today, this tea room was built in 1922 and is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. There are at least three different volumes of this cookbook I've seen, and I plan to add volumes I and III to my collection as well. Since the recipes were from Hawaii, I knew I wanted to make something with a bit of a tropical flavor to it.

This Mango Bread with fresh mango and shredded coconut was super easy to make and very, very moist. I also enjoyed eating the fresh mango that was left over, and if you're a mango fan as well, give this a try!

Mango Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups fresh mango, chopped fine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup melted shortening*
3 eggs

(Note: I wanted to reduce the oil content in this recipe, so I used just 1/4 cup each of the oil and shortening and added 1/2 cup applesauce, my new favorite substitution in these kinds of recipes.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two loaf pans with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, add dry ingredients and stir. Make a well, add remaining ingredients and combine. Divide batter in loaf pans and bake for 1 hour or until firm to the touch. Yields 2 loaves of tea bread.