Hummingbird cake has always remained a mystery to me until I recently found a recipe that I knew I could make my own, thanks to Sally’s Baking Addiction.
The first time my cake turned out brilliant but Sally’s icing recipe was a fail. I also had to substitute certain ingredients because we just don’t get the same things here in South Africa, so now you’re getting my recipe that is tried and tested and yummy!!!
Hummingbird Cake is very similar to Carrot Cake although there is no carrot and the major flavours are Pineapple, banana and nuts! And don’t forget the cream cheese icing!!!!
Here’s how to make it:
INGREDIENTS
for 3 layer cake
2 cups (500ml) chopped pecans / walnuts
3 cups (750ml) all-purpose flour
1 tspn baking soda
2 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn salt
2 cups mashed banana (4 ripe bananas)
1 x 425g can crushed pineapple in syrup
3 large eggs (at room temperature)
2/3 cup (160ml) vegetable or canola oil (or melted coconut oil)
1 & 3/4 cup (450ml) light or dark brown sugar
2 tspns vanilla extract
CREAM CHEESE ICING
ICING INGREDIENTS
250g Icing Sugar
125g (1/2 cup) creamed butter
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
4 Tbsps Smooth Plain Cottage cheese
METHOD
Cream together adding Cottage cheese 1 table spoon at a time. (Up to 4 table spoons - but keep on tasing as you go)
Some orange rind would add tang to the flavour. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to ice the cake.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare your cake pans with nonstick spray and line with baking paper - an easy way to do this is to lay your baking pan on the folded paper (fold as many times as you need to create the correct amount of layers ie. 3 layers this time). Run a sharp knife or open pair of scissors around the outside of the pan to trace the shape onto the paper and then go ahead and cut out the shape to fit your pan.
- Finely chop Pecans / walnuts ahead of time
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Mash your bananas (you can microwave them for a minute if they’re too hard) then add the rest of your wet ingredients. Whisk the rest of the cake ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined. Fold in 1 and 1/2 cups toasted pecans. (Save the rest for topping)
- Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared cake pans. Bake for 26-29 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. Once completely cooled, remove cakes from pan.
- At this point you can wrap the layers in plastic wrap and freeze for a later date or ice immediately and refrigerate for the next day.
- Ice the bottom layer on your serving dish, add the next layer, ice, add 3rd layer, ice and then complete the side all at once. Decorate with orange zest and nuts.
- Once the cake has been iced, remember to keep it in the refrigerator as Cream Cheese icing is more likely to melt.
Here’s an easy download version to save to your photo reel.
I am loving this cake so so much and it is definitely one that I am adding to the family cook book for the rest of time! No need to look anywhere else.
Just a couple tips:
- Partly strain the crushed pineapple pouring off most liquid but keeping a little behind.
- If you have hard bananas then microwave them in the microwave for 1 minute before mashing them.
- I hand chop the nuts because I find a processor makes them too small.
- I use white baking Margarine for my cream cheese icing. This keeps the white colour. Regular yellow Margerine is softer and makes the icing more yellow and runny. Not cool!
- My oven only has a fan option (not ideal for baking) so a bake the cake on a lower shelf and drop the temperature by about 10•C
- I never sieve anything! Laziness...
I’d love to know if you give this cake a try. It could also work as a sheet cake or 36 cupcakes!!! Whatever floats your boat.
LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES!
All photos my own and recipe grab created in Canva