Hummingbird Cake
If a person is not in the South, how do you tell? They read the title of the recipe and inquire,"What's a hummingbird cake?" Well cake is an layer cake with pineapple, banana, and spices, coated with swirls of cream cheese and toasted pecans.
But is it referred to as a cake? The story behind the title is spiced about as nuanced as the cake sour tropical and taste. Perhaps it's because the cake is sweet as the nectar that hummingbirds beverage. It's because will hum with happiness. It's because people make a beeline for this particular pineapple banana cake. Whatever the story is cake is now a staple of parties.
Hummingbird Cake
Makes 12 servings
CAKE
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 11/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
Extract
- 1 (8 ounces ) can crushed pineapple (or fresh chopped lemon )
- 2 cups toasted pecans
- 2 (8 ounce ) packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- Sugar
- Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/ / 175°C.
- In a big bowlcombine the flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda.
- Stir in a cup of chopped pecans, crushed pineapple, and the mashed bananas, and stir until blended.
- Divide the batter evenly between your three covered cake pans (approximately 22 oz per pan). Bake for 25 -- 30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes then remove them and then move them to wire racks to cool.
- Create the cream cheese frosting: beat together cream cheese, the butter, and salt using a hand mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar until it's all incorporated.
- Decorate the cakeif desired, use a knife to cut off the tops of each cake to make them flat. (If you do not need to try it, you could also simply fill in the gaps with more frosting.) Place the first layer of cake onto cake decorating turntable or a serving plate, and disperse the top of this layer. Twist the next layer of cake upside-down (so you have a nice flat surface for frosting), and put it in addition to the initial frosted cake coating. Frost it. Put the cake layer in addition to the cake coating that is 2nd. Cover with the remaining frosting. Distribute the remaining pecans on the top of the cake. Refrigerate till ready to serve.