I love pecans! And pineapple, and bananas, and cream cheese. What, with so many healthy ingredients this cake is acceptable anytime of the day. I’ve wanted to make Hummingbird cake for SO LONG, and it did not disappoint! It would be a lot prettier if I made the full recipe with 3 layers…but the flavor was ALL there.
Hummingbird Cake
12 servings (calorie estimate: 770/serving)
adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups sunflower oil
1 1/4 cups mashed banana
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra to decorate
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped canned pineapple
2/3 cup shelled pecans (or walnuts), chopped, plus extra, chopped and whole, to decorate
Cream cheese frosting
3 8″ cake pans lined with parchment paper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
Put the sugar, eggs, oil, banana, and cinnamon in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer) and beat until all the ingredients are well incorporated (don’t worry if the mixture looks slightly split). Slowly add the flour, baking soda, salt, and vanilla and continue to beat until everything is well mixed.
Stir in the chopped pineapple and pecans by hand until evenly dispersed.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth over with a palette knife. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and the cake bounces back when touched. Let the cake layers cool slightly in the pans before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When the cake layers are cold, put one on a cake stand and spread about one-quarter of the cream cheese frosting over it with a palette knife. Place a second layer on top and spread another quarter of the frosting over it. Top with the last layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides. Finish with pecans and a light sprinkling of cinnamon.
I really could have done without the calorie count on this
Oh well…I want to make it and eat it anyways! Looks delicious!
Wow! How delicious does this look?! I’m sold! A must try!
xxMK
Delightful Bitefuls
Taylor – hahaha, knowledge is power, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. I actually made only half the recipe, and you can see it’s still a good sized cake (and safer that way). The calorie count is based on the full recipe as written.
Mary – let me know what you think, it’s one of my personal favorites; delicious, pretty AND easy!
What a great combination of flavors in this cake, plus it looks so moist.
Hello! I found this blog through Photograzing – the cake looks so delicious! I think I’ll try making this as a sheet cake for an upcoming church lunch.
I do have one question though – do you drain the canned pineapple before adding it to the mix?
Thank you for posting.
Hello Deborah! Definitely DO drain the pineapple. This cake is delish and hard to mess up. Hope you enjoy it!
I know I’m late on this, but I wanted you to know that this is totally inspiring. You make the recipe sound so simple. Of COURSE this is healthy. There’s fruit in there! I linked to your post on my most recent update (http://www.southxsanfrancisco.com/2011/09/southern-church-cookbooks-and.html). Thanks for the inspiration!
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