Hummingbird Cake is practically a Southern Institution. This supermoist version is packed full of bananas, pineapple, and a little coconut, and topped off with a. Hummingbird Cake Southern Living' title='Hummingbird Cake Southern Living' />Hummingbird Cake Recipe My. Recipes Preheat oven to 3. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Coat 3 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of each pan with parchment paper coat paper with cooking spray. Whisk together flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla, and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in bananas, pineapple, and pecans. Batter will be very thick, more like banana bread batter than cake batter. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake at 3. 50 for 2. I8n_kpa6' alt='Hummingbird Cake Southern Living' title='Hummingbird Cake Southern Living' />Cool in pans on a wire rack 1. Remove from pans to wire rack, and cool completely about 3. Peel off and discard parchment paper. Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with one fourth of frosting. Repeat procedure once. Thanks to Mrs. L. H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina, this pineapplebananaspice cake with cream cheese frosting became one of our most. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish, if desired. How To Make Easy Yet Classic Hummingbird Cake. Hummingbird cake tastes like it could be the love child of banana bread and pineapple upside down cake. In this Southern classic, bananas and crushed pineapple moisten a spiced cake sweetened with brown sugar and studded with pecans, and then whole the cake is coated in perfect cream cheese icing and decorated with pineapple flowers. It sounds complex, but is actually one of those perfect everyday cakes the kind that doesnt require a mixer, cant be overmixed, and stays moist and tender for days. You can make it from pantry and fridge staples on everyday occasions, or dress it up for a celebration. Heres how to make a classic hummingbird cake. There Are No Hummingbirds in Hummingbird Cake. The cake takes its name from the cakes sweetness, which is rumored to attract hummingbirds by aroma alone. This cake also has Jamaican roots where it was called a Doctor Bird Cake and was brought to the U. S. through tourist promotions in the 1. The recipe was made famous by Mrs. L H Wiggin when her recipe was published in a 1. Southern Living magazine, although variations on the cake had been baked around the South for years before. What Makes This a Classic Hummingbird CakeMashed overripe bananas, canned crushed pineapple juice and all, plus buttery, crunchy pecans are the basic components of a classic hummingbird cake. Brown sugar and fragrant cinnamon are included as a nod to the cakes reputation for sweetness and aroma, as well as a nod to its place of origin. The gilding of the lily is, no doubt, the sumptuous cream cheese icing, which lends even more moisture to the dense cake and balances the cakes sweetness with its signature tang. This recipe was passed down to me by my husbands paternal grandmother, born and raised in North Carolina. I have no doubt that Maw. Maw Betty clipped and used the original recipe and adapted it as her own. This recipe calls for a little more sugar than the original and less oil. Ive since swapped half of the white sugar for brown sugar, making for a cake with a slightly browner hue and more complex sweetness. There are some hummingbird cake recipes that call for a stand or electric hand mixer, but I believe those tools are counter to the cakes humble beginnings and so this classic is mixed by hand. The original Southern Living cake called for the batter to be baked in three layers, but, as few of us keep three cake pans in our kitchens, this cake calls for just two. Quick banana tip You can quickly soften bananas by roasting them in a 3. F oven for 3. 0 to 4. Read more Ripen Bananas in the Oven for Last Minute Banana Bread. Key Points for Successful Hummingbird Cake. Understand the mixing method Hummingbird cake is mixed via the muffin method rather than the cake mixing method like its quick bread relative, banana bread. Theres no creaming of butter and sugar the cake uses oil and instead the wet mixture of oil, eggs, mashed bananas, and pineapple is folded into the flour mixture. Dont overmix it Hummingbird cake is best when the portion of moist fruit is almost higher than the cakes flour content. With its high oil and fruit content, hummingbird cake is almost impossible to overmix, but resist beating the batter with a stand or hand mixer and just bring the wet and dry together. The batter will get a touch more mixing when you fold in the pecans. Fold in the pecans No, you cant just toss the nuts in along with the other ingredients. Folding the pecans into the batter after mixing together the wet and dry prevents the dry mix from creating pockets in and around the nuts, making for a more homogenous batter and a moister cake. Know that this cake bakes flat Hummingbird cake is more dense than a typical white cake and usually bakes up without the hump or rounded middle of most cakes. This makes it easy peasy to layer and frost. You must frost with cream cheese frosting The pretty pineapple flowers are optional, but classic hummingbird cake requires perfect cream cheese frosting. Skip the flowers in favor of toasted and chopped pecans, if desired. Makes 1. 0 to 1. 2 servings. What You Need. Ingredients. Cooking spray. 3 cups all purpose flour. Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting. Dried Pineapple Flowers. Equipment. Measuring cups and spoons. Parchment paper. 2 9 inch round cake pans. Mixing bowls. Whisk. Spatula. Instructions. Heat the oven and prepare the cake pans Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 3. F. Coat 2 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Whisk together the dry ingredients Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl set aside. Mix together the eggs, oil, and fruit Place the eggs, oil, vanilla, pineapple and its juices, and bananas in a medium bowl. Homemade Pancake Syrup. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. Some lumps are expected and welcome. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined, being sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to eliminate any pockets of flour that might be stuck. Fold in the pecans Add the pecans and gently fold into the batter. Bake the cakes Divide between the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes pull away from the edges of the pan, 3. Cool the cakes Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire cooling rack for 1. Flip the cakes out of the pan onto the wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. Frost the cake Put a dab of frosting on a cake plate or a cardboard cake circle. Place 1 cooled cake layer right side up on the plate or cake circle. Dollop about 13 of the frosting on the center of that cake. Use an offset spatula to spread into an even layer. Top with the second cake layer, this time upside down. Cover the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate the top with dried pineapple flowers. Refrigerate the cake at least 3. Recipe Notes. Make ahead The cakes can be baked, cooled, and stored tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before assembly. Storage Store the frosted cake, lightly covered in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.