A delicious 3-layered Banana Pineapple Cake that everyone falls in love with! Cream cheese frosting just elevates this cake, making it one of the most charming Southern Cakes out there.
Hummingbird Cake – Southern Classic
This is a classic Southern American Recipe
♦Prep time:20 min ♦Cook time:30 min ♦Yield:3 Layer Cake
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Hummingbird Cake – Southern Classic
Description
The cake was originally called "Doctor Bird Cake" and was created in Jamaica. The "Doctor Bird" is the local nickname for the Red-billed Streamertail, the island's national bird (a species of hummingbird).
The recipe was exported to the U.S. in the late 1960s by the Jamaican Tourist Board in press kits to encourage tourism. It gained immense popularity in the Southern U.S. after being published in Southern Living magazine in 1978, where it was renamed the "Hummingbird Cake." The name is said to refer either to its extreme sweetness—enough to attract a hummingbird—or how quickly people "hum" with pleasure while eating it.
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
Cream Cheese Vanilla Frosting for the Cake:
Instructions
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Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
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Add the sugar and cinnamon. Stir well with a wire whisk or fork.
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Beat the eggs lightly.
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Now add the wet ingredients to the dry. Start by adding the eggs and oil, stirring until the flour is moistened. Do not beat.
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Next, add the pineapple, nuts, banana, and vanilla extract.
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Use a spatula to fold in the ingredients from the bottom of the bowl.
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Make sure there is no dry flour left. Do not beat.
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This makes a very thick batter.
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You can use the juice from fresh or canned pineapple to aid in mixing if needed. ( Just a couple of Tbsps, no more)
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Spoon the batter into 3 greased and floured (8-9 inches) cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper.
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Bake at 350°F for 25 - 30 minutes OR until a toothpick is inserted in the center, comes out clean.
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Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks and allow to cool completely.
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(Start to prepare the frosting in the meantime see below).
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Spread the prepared frosting in between the layers, on top, and on the sides of the cake. Decorate with chopped/ whole pecans.
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Refrigerate till served.
Make the Cream Cheese Vanilla Frosting while the Cake is being baked:
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Add the softened cream cheese and butter to a stand mixer. You can use a mixer or handheld beater.
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Beat till nice and smooth, without lumps.
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Use a spatula to fold in the powdered sugar. This is so you don't have sugar dust flying everywhere.
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Now continue to beat, adding vanilla extract till the frosting is light, smooth, and fluffy.
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Chill till it's time to frost your cake.
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This yields enough frosting for one 3 layered cake.
Note
- Pecans are sometimes hard to find where I am. Walnut is a fine substitute, less sweet than pecans, but they work well.
- I have seen cream cheese icing recipes with way-WAY more sugar, which I think is insane! This one cup is more than enough, IMHO. I reduce it even further sometimes. It's delicious, and I find that less sweet is better, to let the subtle tanginess of the cheese shine through.
- The ingredients should all be at room temperature. Butter should be left to soften, and not melted. Cream cheese should be softened well ahead of time to make a nice, fluffy frosting.
- Here, I decorated my cake with chopped Ferrero Rocher chocolates, since I didn't have pecans.
- You can level the top of the cakes with a sharp knife for a flatter finish, or use the flat side of the cake as the top.
- Key Ingredients: Flour, Eggs, Oil, Banana, Pineapple, Pecans/Walnuts, Cream Cheese, Butter, Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda, Vanilla Extract.
