Hummingbird Cake
Hummingbird Cake is one of those recipes that's uniquely Southern, and found nearly every springtime at someone's baby shower, wedding, or barbecue.
Rumor has it the cake's name comes from its over-the-top sweetness - so sweet that there's no way a hummingbird could resist it's sugary lure.
Personally, it reminds me a lot of carrot cake, but instead of getting its sweetness from carrots, it gets it from fresh pineapple, ripe bananas, and warmly roasted walnuts. They're each equal stars of this show.
James loved the cake for its denseness, and it's cream cheese frosting. I loved it for all the fresh fruit and walnuts - both of which are incredibly good for you. That makes it healthy, right?!
If you've never had a Hummingbird Cake, take my advice and add it to your Springtime celebrations menu. Everyone could use a little Southern hospitality in their lives, don't you think?
Hummingbird Cake
adapted from Walnuts.org
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fresh pineapple, crushed
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped roasted California walnuts
For the frosting:
1 ½ sticks chilled butter
3 8 oz bars of chilled cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups sifted confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
1 ½ cups chopped roasted walnuts
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 3 round cake pans with baking spray for baking. Line with parchment paper if desired.
In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, add sugar, brown sugar, and eggs. Mix on high until well combined and light and fluffy. Add vegetable oil and vanilla extract and mix again.
Add crushed pineapple and mashed bananas, and mix again. Add the chopped roasted walnuts by hand.
Divide batter equally between the 3 pans. Tap each pan lightly against the countertop to remove any air bubbles. Place in the oven and bake 25-30 minutes in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool for several hours or overnight, removing to a cooling rack after the pan comes to a handle-able temperature.
When cakes are completely cool, make frosting. In a mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add in powdered sugar a ¼ cup at a time, mixing after each addiction until completely incorporated and fluffy.
Apply a crumb coat to each layer of the cake, applying it thicker between each layer. Then refrigerate for an hour or more. When crumb coat has hardened, add walnuts to the rest of the icing and re-frost so that the cake is completely covered and there are no "bald" spots.
Refrigerate for another hour so the frosting will set, then the cake is ready to serve. Enjoy with a glass of Southern iced tea or lemonade.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Hummingbird Cake - - - [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
This looks SO good! Posting as my entry for the cupcake carrier here 🙂 Thanks!
This reminds me I haven't made one of these in AGES. And they are so good. And yours looks great. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks or sharing this recipe! I never had this cake before and it looked amazing so I just had to make it. It was delicious!
I love Hummingbird Cake! I always make mine with pecans, though. I just prefer them, and I was raised in Seguin, Texas (Home of the World's Biggest Pecan!). LOL
Pecans would definitely be good in this too.
I'm so excited to try this recipe, I've never made Hummingbird cake myself!!! If you are ever in Chicago-Art Smith's Hummingbird Cake at Table 52 is TOO-DIE-FOR!
Lauren, I have wanted to go to Table 52 since I saw that Sunday Fried Chicken of Art Smith's on Best Thing I Ever Ate on the food network. I'm excited to know that good Southern man is making hummingbird cake too! Now we just have to get ourselves to Chicago!
We call that Dr. Bird cake
Tricia, what's the story behind that?
This looks delicious! I've been wanting to make this cake forever, thanks for sharing this recipe!
Get to it, Lucy! Every second you waste is a second you didn't have hummingbird cake in your life. 😉
I have heard alot about this cake, but have never made or eaten it. It sounds delicious - and it's beautiful!
Thanks so much, Brenda! I think you'd really like it.
I saw your photo, and my first thought was, "Ahh, a real cake. That's what cake is SUPPOSED to be." Hummingbird cakes were a favorite of my little old Cajun Maw-Maw.
Aww, Shelly, your comment made my day. I love your Cajun Maw-Maw. I have a midwestern Nanny. They're awesome, aren't they?
This is gorgeous! Now I want a honking slice of cake for lunch!
Me too, Jamie. It went with James to work on Monday and I didn't get anything but like 2 bites!
Looks great! How do you divide the batter between the layers evenly? I always have trouble when I simply eyeball it, so I tend to stay away from layer cakes for this reason. Any tips?
I sure do. Jaime, what I do is pour the batter into a giant measuring cup or bowl so I know how much I have in cups. You can even do this between multiple measuring cups if you don't have one cup or bowl big enough. Then just do the simple math of how much batter you have, divided by 3.
The other thing to keep in mind is that it's okay if layer cakes aren't exactly uniform in size per layer. The end result is going to be completely covered in frosting, and you won't be able to tell whether or not one layer is bigger than the other until you cut into it. And at that point, do you really care? You'll be too busy eating delicious cake! 🙂
good point, thanks!
This sounds perfect for my daughter in laws baby shower! Thank you for sharing.
Teri, it's great for a baby shower because it goes so far. You can make the one cake and it'll feed the whole crowd because it's dense and you only need small slices to keep folks happy.
I've never heard of hummingbird cake before, but this looks just lovely! It just begs to be made for Mother's Day, I think 🙂
Jen, you simply must make it for Mother's Day! It's perfect.
I always wondered about the name, that totally makes sense!
Me too, Sylvie! I researched a bunch of sites, and that seemed to be the consensus, plus I called my nan and asked her. Nans are never wrong, you know.