Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

hummingbird cake

Recipe by
Linda Mericle
Dadeville, AL

This is a popular recipe at the bake sale. Right up there with carrot cake, which this is very similar to. You could even reduce the bananas to 1 cup and add 1 cup of shredded carrots and a half cup of flaked coconut to make an all new cake! And who doesn't love love love cream cheese icing!

yield 16 serving(s)
prep time 30 Min
cook time 55 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For hummingbird cake

  • CAKE
  • 1 can
    crushed pineapple, 8oz
  • 3 c
    flour, all purpose
  • 2 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 tsp
    baking soda
  • 1 tsp
    cinnamon or apple pie seasoning
  • 1 tsp
    salt
  • 3 lg
    eggs
  • 1 c
    vegetable oil
  • c c
    chopped or mashed bananas
  • 1 c
    chopped nuts
  • 2 tsp
    vanilla
  • FROSTING
  • 1 c
    butter, softened
  • 16 oz
    softened cream cheese
  • 2 tsp
    vanilla
  • 32 oz
    powered sugar, more or less
  • 1/2 c
    chopped nuts for decorating

How To Make hummingbird cake

  • 1
    preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 9" round cake pans. My mother used to put cut out rounds of wax paper in the bottoms of the cake pans first. I like to use parchment. Either way, it guarantees the cakes will come out of the pans. Set aside pineapple, do not drain!
  • 2
    Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. (Flour, baking power, baking soda, salt and spices).
  • 3
    Mix the sugar and eggs together in a large bowl and mix in the oil. Stir in bananas, pecans, vanilla and pineapple with juice. Now add the flour mixture until just combined.
  • 4
    Divide batter evenly between the 2 9" round pans and smooth over the tops. Put in the preheated oven and bake until the center comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.
  • 5
    *You can bake them in 3 8" round cake pans if you want. They will cook faster, more like 25 minutes. Just check them. If they are underdone, it will sink in the middle as it cools.
  • 6
    After they are out of the oven, let cool in the pans on a wire rack about 20 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pans and let continue cooling on racks.
  • 7
    For the icing: Beat the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add the powered sugar, vanilla and salt and continue beating until smooth.
  • 8
    Place cake on your platter and top with icing, smoothing it out. Add the other cake layer and top with icing as well. Now ice the sides. I like to add chopped pecans to the top and use icing tips to decorate.Now refrigerate and enjoy cool slices in about an hour!
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