In honor of Spring peeking around the corner and a bunch of overly ripened bananas, it’s time to celebrate with this incredibly best tasting cake ever, the Hummingbird Cake!
A Southern favorite, the Hummingbird Cake is a moist cake full of toasted pecans, bananas and yes, a nice hint of pineapple. If that wasn’t enough, then you have this serious amount of cream cheese frosting daring you to do a face plant. Happily you do, followed by that “may I have some more please?” nod, then out of sheer willfulness, you do. 😉
You can make this cake layers or like me, use a bundt pan. I prefer the bundt pan for several reasons, one it’s fun to say the word bundt. Bundt, bunddddt, bunnndt. And so it goes. Second I like the idea of a really large doughnut, but mostly it’s because it’s something my mom always did. She made so many cakes in her bundt pan, and I have so many have great memories of it.
Enjoy this cake anytime of year, but somehow it just seems perfect for the warmer, sunny days. Oh and no, no actual birds are were used in the making of this cake, eww. Some say it’s because it’s sweet enough to attract the Hummingbird, and I’ll stick with that because, yes it is perfectly sweet. With it’s origins from the Caribbean and made popular in the southern United States during the 60’s and 70’s, I hope you too will enjoy this cake as much as we do!
Oh gloriously tasty in every way!
Hummingbird Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ½ cup + 1/4 cup for decorating Pecans, toasted and chopped
- 3 cups Self Raising Flour
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Oil I use Canola or refined Coconut Oil
- 2 tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract
- 20 oz can Crushed Pineapple drained
- 4 ripe Bananas mashed
For the Frosting:
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 2 tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract
- 2 ½ cups Confectioner's Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and Flour Bundt pan (12 cup size).
- In a small dry skillet over medium low heat, add the chopped Pecans and gently shake the pan around occasionally until they smell even more nutty, about 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the Flour, Sugar and Cinnamon until well combined.
- Add the Eggs, Oil and Vanilla to the Flour mixture and mix well. (I use my mixer with the whisk attachment and start on low then increase to medium speed).
- Add in the drained, crushed Pineapple, mixing well, followed by the mashed Bananas. Mix until well combined.
- Fold in the 1/2 cup of toasted Pecans.
- Pour batter into the prepared Bundt pan, distributing evenly around. Bake in the preheated 350°F oven, for 55 - 70 minutes or a cake tester inserted comes out clean. Adjust time accordingly, I usually keep mine in for just over an hour.
- Allow to cool at least 10 - 15 minutes in pan, invert onto serving plate and allow to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- While the cake is cooling. In a large mixing bowl, add the softened Cream Cheese and unsalted Butter and beat until fluffy, 8 - 10 minutes. Add the Vanilla and beat it in, followed by adding in the Confectioner's Sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating until well combined and continue to add until all 2 1/2 cups are well incorporated and icing is fluffy. Keep chilled until ready to ice the cake. Makes about 2 1/4 cups of Icing.
Assembling the Cake:
- Once the cake is completely cooled, you can add the frosting either just on the top as I have or to cover the cake completely.
- Decorate with 1/4 cup of the toasted Pecans and enjoy.
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can this cake be made in 9×13 pan?
Hello Marilyn! Yes, you can bake this in a 9 x 13 pan. Adjust the cooking time to about 30 – 35 minutes, test with a cake tester or knife, and add more time if needed. Enjoy!