Monday, April 19, 2010

Hummingbird Cake

The Hummingbird cake is a true Southern cake and it is beautifully moist and delicious. This is one of my favorite cakes as it kind of reminds me of carrot cake which has all my favorite ingredients like bananas, pineapple and nuts in it. The cream cheese frosting gives an extra tangy sweetness to it. It is still a bit of mystery on where its usual name came from. But there are many theories about the origin of this cakes name.

Some say this cake earned its name because people will hum with delight while eating this cake. Another theory is that it's as sweet as the sugared water used to attract the Hummingbird. Whatever it may be, I do know one thing for sure is that the cake is so good and if you are looking for a cake to bake this would be the one.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups mashed bananas
½ cup crushed pineapple
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 cup icing sugar
3 tbsp butter
80 grm cream cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F. Grease and line an 8” square or round baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients and set it aside. In another mixing bowl, combined eggs, brown sugar, oil, bananas, pineapple juice and crushed pineapple. Stir all the ingredients together until well mix.
3. Add in the sifted ingredients into the eggs mixture. Mix until combined and lastly add in the nuts. Pour the mixture into prepare baking pan and bake in the oven for an hour or until golden brown and the skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
4. Remove the cake from the oven; let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before spreading on the cheese frosting.
5. For the cream cheese frosting, put all the ingredients in a mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Spread it on the cake.

29 comments:

Donna @ Comin' Home said...

Wow, This sounds phenomenal! I really think it would make a great cake to serve for Mother's Day. I think I will add this to my menu selections for May on my homemaking blog, Comin' Home.

You are an amazing cook! This recipe makes me think of a cross between fruit cake and Italian cream cake. Yummy!

Sabrina Woon said...

yum !! i seriously want to taste this right now ! :D haha

Ann said...

Mmmm..yum yum yum...I will try to make this cake for my mother for her birthday end of this month.Thanks for the recipe.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

immediate bookmark this, I love cake with fruits.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Sounds like a really refreshing cake...pineapple...mmm! ;) Should try this when I have some fresh pineapple to spare. ;)

momgateway said...

That is lovely!

Noob Cook said...

it's so beautiful, especially the cross section!

Shereen said...

This is really a very nice and elegant cake.I love the way you frost it as it look so fresh and unpretentious.Good job and I will try baking this cake soon.

Yee Er said...

Hi, saw your siew yoke's recipe and it's what i'm looking for. Tks for sharing ur recipe.

Kitchen Corner said...

My first time know about Hummingbird cake. Something new to me to learn. Thanks for sharing!

ann low said...

Never heard of Hummingbird cake before. Looks so yummy, will bookmark this.

Sueozana said...

The Hummingbird cake; cool name, as cool as it looks! I'll try this...

Pete said...

Hummingbird cake, I like the name...cute!

My Asian Kitchen said...

I like cream cheese frosting too!! beautifully done!! what celebration making hummingbird this cake? as I know you seldom icing the cake you baked!!

kirbie said...

I've never heard of this cake before. I love the use of all the fruits though, it sounds delicious. At first I thought you were talking about the Hummingbird bakery's red velvet cake.

Baking Addict said...

I made this cake once and it was a huge success. Yours looks prettier than mine did :) Must make it again soon.

ICook4Fun said...

Donna, thank you. I hope you try this cake out.

Sabrina, too bad I am not there to bake it for you :(

Ann, hope your mother like this cake.

Sonia, let me know how it turn out ok.

Bee, yes you can either use can or fresh pineapple.

Momgateway, thanks

Noobcook, thank you.

Shereen, you know me. I hardly frost my cake and not good at it either ha ha..

Yee Er, you are welcome.

Kitchen Corner, you are welcome.

ICook4Fun said...

Anncoo, thank you.

Sueozana, hope you like it.

Pete, nice name isn't it :)

Lesley, no special ocassion. Since I have some cream cheese left I might as well frost it. Gave some to Nancy too :)

Kirbe, oh, is there a Hummingbird Bakery?

Baking Addict, thank you.

Pei-Lin said...

Hey, Gert! Funny ... I've never heard of hummingbird cake in Minnesota. I'd heard of and even tasted red velvet cake though both these are Southern. Very interesting indeed. Thanks for sharing!

Wonderful work, as always. =)

Cheah said...

Hummingbird Cake ... never heard of before. Yours look so delicious, love the picture!

ICook4Fun said...

Pei-lin, this cake and red velvet cake are popular in the South.

Cheah, thank you.

Anonymous said...

Made this yesterday. Lovely texture - moist, soft, crumbly. Thumbs up.

But can u advise how to get cake to rise evenly? Is this something to do with the heat distribution in the oven?

ICook4Fun said...

Anon, glad that you like this cake. An uneven cake is quite unavoidable. If you want to frost your cake you can alway trim off the top to even it out. Another way is buy the the wilton even cake strips where you wrap it around the cake pan before baking it. Another way is wrap a wet towel around the baking pan. I never try it before so not sure if it will work or not.

Unknown said...

I've always wanted to try a hummingbird cake, ever since i saw martha stewart make one on tv. I love the ingredients. I know it must taste fabulous. Gorgeous cake daaaaahling.
*kisses* HH

WendyinKK said...

I actually planned to bake hummingbird cake today, based on Joy of Baking's recipe, I've bookmarked that for so long :)
Didn't see that you did this already. Nice cake you have there.
I can see those nuts in the cake, must be really nice.

ICook4Fun said...

Havenly Housewife, thanks for stopping by and your comment. Hope to see you often.

Wendy, thank you. Looking foward to see your version of this cake :)

Food For Tots said...

My family love this cake very much. So happy to find the recipe here. It's a must try in my to-bake list now. Your cake looks gorgeous! ;)

ICook4Fun said...

Food For Tots, thank you very much.

poohbear said...

Hi there! This called for 3 large eggs. The eggs here are on the small side. Can I add one more egg? Thanks!