Hummingbird Cake

If you enjoy carrot and banana cake you’ll love hummingbird cake. Banana, pineapple, and pecans make a moist fluffy cake topped with cream cheese frosting and even more pecans.

Over the weekend a certain family member of mine celebrated a birthday – my dad turned 70 on Sunday! We threw him party filled with all of his golf, softball, pickleball, shenanigan, etc. friends and had all kinds of things to eat such as my dad’s cook-off winning chili, corn spoon bread, sweet and sour meatballs, cocktail weenies, buffalo chicken dip, sausage cheese bread, and spinach dip.

Of course no 70th birthday is complete without scads of desserts! We had potica, pineapple angel food cake, three different kinds of brownies (turtle, hot chocolate, peanut butter), and last but not least, hummingbird birthday cake!

The birthday boy requested this cake and even had a recipe saved for it. If you’ve never had hummingbird cake, it is like a fluffy version of banana bread with not only banana but also crushed pineapple, pecans, and cinnamon. It’s topped by the best kind of frosting on earth, cream cheese frosting, and then garnished with even more pecans.

Basically it is a cake stuffed with some of my dad’s favorite things: fruit and nuts. After he quickly blew out the candles in one breath (and I sadly didn’t have my flash on and ended up with a blurry photo – below is staged), I made sure to slice him a piece with the most nuts on top!

Wish you could eat this cake for breakfast? I mean there is fruit in it… but if’s that’s not convincing enough, try Hummingbird Granola instead!

One year ago: Caramel Frosted Pumpkin Mini Cakes

Two years ago: Arugula Pesto Pasta

Four years ago: Caramel Apple Pie

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

Serves 24 as a sheet cake or 12 as a layer cake)

Ingredients:

CAKE

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained

1-3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4)

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

FROSTING

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

1 (16 oz.) pkg. powdered sugar (or more if you prefer thicker frosting)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one sheet cake pan or three 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, shift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add eggs and oil and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (do not beat). Stir in vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and pecans.
3. Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 for a sheet pan, and 20-25 for three round pans, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.
4. For the frosting, in a medium bowl cream together the butter and cream cheese. Gradually add the powdered sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla until incorporated.  (Add for powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.) Stir pecans into frosting, or reserve for topping. Spread frosting between layers, on top, and the sides of the cake.

Source: Adapted slightly from Everything And Nothing, originally from Southern Living, February 1978.