Remember the ‘Pink Drink‘ craze from a few years ago? I recall lots of photos and mentions from customers drinking a milky pink beverage from Starbucks. Their cups were loaded with ice, coconut milk, and freeze-dried strawberries with their strawberry açaí as a base. That wasn’t the only rosy drink–Starbucks then launched the Dragon Drink, a brighter-colored refresher made with tropical fruits like dragon fruit and mango.
Today, consumers can replicate these drinks using Starbucks Refreshers fruit concentrates. I recently got the opportunity to try the one that resembled the Dragon Drink, Mango Dragonfruit. It’s refreshing alright, and the vibrant pink hue is still there, but it got me thinking about a time I incorporated dragon fruit into an experimental recipe…
…a dragonfruit quick bread!
I once acquired a bag of dragonfruit drink mix powder called Passion Dragon. As a drink, it was fruity and pleasant, but I couldn’t see myself using the whole bag of pink powder. So I thought, what’s the harm in adding some to a basic quick bread and see what happens?
So, I took a few snapshots of the process for this website, then second-guessed the whole thing, and promptly archived them for some reason. That was two years ago.
My baking memory may be fuzzy, but the images show a pinkish batter that baked into a golden loaf. The flavor of the bread wasn’t extremely tropical, but for a quick bread, you simply can’t go wrong with a mildly sweet slice of carbs. Take the dragonfruit powder out of the recipe, and you have a standard quick loaf that welcomes any mix-ins. Glancing over the ingredient list, I see some room for improvement. This dragonfruit bread could be even better with a glaze made of powdered sugar, a splash of milk, and some of that pink drink powder. Slices of the actual fruit could also beautify the baked good.
In honor of the Dragon Drink and my most recent consumption of Starbucks Refreshers concentrate (now available in stores!), I’m sharing this recipe now. The question is, would you try this?
Looking for another fruity quick bread? Check out my Banana Bread recipe (that also works as muffins!)
Dragonfruit Quick Bread (Inspired by the Starbucks Dragon Drink)
Equipment
- 2 medium-sized bowls
- 1 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup dragon fruit drink mix powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
- In the other bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla.
- Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in dragon fruit mix.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center is clean. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t have dragonfruit drink mix, a potential alternative is 6 oz. of Starbucks Refreshers concentrate in Mango Dragonfruit.
- If you want your quick bread to look more pinkish, add food coloring.
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