Do you like bananas? How about pineapple? Some coconut? Rum? Well you should get a pina colada then. This cake is not quite pina colada but I absolutely can imagine it as such if you maybe put some coconut flavoring in the frosting and soak the cake in rum. That actually will probably make for a great boozy cake! Anyway, I digress. I always associate Hummingbird Cake with southern cuisine but maybe only because I once saw it in Southern Living magazine. In any case, no matter where this cake comes from, it’s still really delicious!
Ingredients for cake:
- 1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
- 1 cup (220 grams) brown sugar
- 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1.25 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1.5 cup (375 ml) neutral-flavor vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (approx. 225 grams) crushed pineapple (if you don’t happen to see canned crushed pineapple, feel free to get fresh and chop them up fiercely)
- 3 medium-sized ripe bananas, sliced
- 1 cup (125 grams) pecans, toasted and chopped coarsely
Ingredients for cream cheese frosting:
- 16 oz. (450 grams) cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 4 oz. (113 grams) unsalted butter, also softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 lb. (450 grams) powdered sugar
Directions:
- This is going to be very complicated so bear with me here. Get a large mixing bowl and dump in both sugars, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add oil and eggs, then mix with a spatula until just combined. (Phew, that was tough.)
- Ready for step 2? More complicated techniques! Add vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and pecans into the mixture and mix with the same spatula until just combined. All sarcastic joking aside, this recipe does have high return on investment factor because it’s super simple and yet you can claim slaving for hours and hours in the kitchen to make it.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter the insides of two 9-inch round cake pans (or square or hexagon, don’t let me tell you what you want to do). If you have parchment paper, it would be good to line the bottom of the pan with it because that will be extra guarantee that the cake won’t stick. Dust the inside of the cakes with flour.
- Divide the cake batter between the two cake pans. Shake and tap gently on the counter so release any air bubbles. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Let cool completely before frosting, or if you have time, freeze them overnight.
- While you wait for the cakes to cool, make the frosting: combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, mix at high speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the bowl at least a couple of times to make sure that everything is combined and the mixture is lump-free.
- Sift the powdered sugar into a separate bowl. To be completely honest I usually skip sifting process but I have learned not to skip that when it comes to making frosting because it really does make a difference. In 3-4 additions, mix in the powdered sugar into the cream cheese-butter mixture until they are incorporated. Scrape the bowl again as needed. Add the salt and whip the entire mixture until you have a light and fluffy frosting.
- Frost the completely cooled cakes however you like. You can frost just in the middle and on top or that and all around. You should have enough frosting to do this. If you previously froze your cakes, it should be much easier to frost cleanly. One thing to note, this cake does look a little boring because it’s just… white. So the last time I made this, I took a little bit of frosting and mixed it with red food coloring and then drew hearts on top of the cake. Tada! Instantly boosted the appeal of the cake by 25% (approximation).
A Dash of Yoyo 