Hummingbird Cake
Hummingbird cake is rich and decadent. Loaded with plenty of bananas, pineapple, and pecans, and topped with luscious cream cheese icing, this cake is a dream.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1¾ cups pecans chopped
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups ripe mashed bananas 3 to 4 bananas
- 1¼ cups vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 8 ounces crushed pineapples undrained
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup salted sweet cream butter softened
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Evenly spread the chopped pecans on the prepared baking sheet.
- Roast the pecans for 6 to 8 minutes, keeping a close eye on the pecans to ensure they do not burn.
- Remove the pecans and allow them to cool completely. Once the pecans are cooled, divide them into 1 cup for the cakes and ¾ cup for garnish.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350°F. Line the bottom of three 9-inch round cake pans then lightly spray with Baker’s Joy or a generic version. Set them aside.
- Using a large mixing bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside.
- Using a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, vegetable oil, eggs, undrained crushed pineapple, and pure vanilla extract until completely combined.
- Carefully whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Fold in 1 cup of the cooled chopped pecans.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between the 3 round prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
- Using either a stand mixer, or a medium-sized mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the softened cream cheese and the softened butter for 1 to 1½ minutes.
- Lower the mixer speed to low, and add the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar. Keep the mixer speed on low until the powdered sugar starts to combine, increasing the speed to medium, and mix for another 1 to 1½ minutes until smooth.
- Remove the first cake from the pan and place it onto a serving plate.
- Using a silicone spatula or an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting over the top of the cake.
- Place the second cake on top of the first cake layer and repeat the thin layer of frosting.
- Place the third cake on top of the second layer.
- Mound a thicker layer of frosting on top of the third layer, using the silicone spatula or the offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly.
- Evenly spread the rest of the frosting around the sides of the cakes.
- Once the cake is completely frosted, spread the remaining chopped pecans around the top edge of the cake.
Notes
Bananas get sweeter as they ripen and are easier to mash. Choose bananas that don’t have any green showing on the peel. You can ripen bananas faster by placing them in a paper bag with the top loosely folded down. They should be nice and ripe in a day or two.
You can buy pre-cut parchment paper rounds to make lining the pans easier.
For a spicier tasting cake, you can increase the cinnamon to 2 teaspoons and/or add ½ teaspoon of ground allspice.
Do not drain the pineapple when adding it to the batter. The pineapple juice will add to the moistness of the cake.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your cake at the lower end of the recommended baking time.
For an even moister cake, tightly cover cooled the cakes, before frosting, with plastic wrap and allow it to sit overnight.
Make sure to keep the frosting between the layers nice and thin.