Hummingbird Cake | Bake A Cake With Frosting Recipes

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Jul

2009

Hummingbird Cake

This exceptional cake recipe harkens back to the old-style Victorian cakes made when coffee and tea in the afternoon were must attend events! This cake recipe combines outstanding ingredients to make a lush, sumptuous event cake. It will freeze well and be a great treat for all of your important guests.

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp. fresh ground cinnamon

3 fresh large eggs, beaten

1cup canola or vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, do not drain

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

2 cups roughly chopped ripe bananas

1. Preheat oven 350F. Grease and flour 3 ~ 9 inch round cake pans.

2. In a large bowl, sift together first five ingredients.

3. Add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. DO NOT BEAT with an electric mixer.

4. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas. Pour batter into prepared pans.

5. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes.

6. Remove cake from pans, let cool completely on wire racks. Meanwhile, make frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 - 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temp

1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp

2 - 16 oz. packages confectioners sugar

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

1. In a bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy.

2. Stir in pecans until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Spread the frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top and pat down the sides.

5. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yields 12 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Dae Thompson of Marietta, Georgia.

Photo courtesy of Woman’s Day Magazine.

Comments

Carolyn Jung

OK, I'll bite -- how come it's called hummingbird cake?

Saturday 11 July 2009, 14:11

Post Reply

DaeMac

Greetings, Carolyn, Ya know, I've wondered the same thing. I'm from the north east and never heard of this cake until I moved to GA. Maybe some of our fellow foodies can shed a light on the name and it's history. I love learning about the facts of a recipe!

Saturday 11 July 2009, 17:11

Post Reply

Allen

Hi Carolyn:

Southern Living magazine is generally credited with the first reference to Hummingbird Cake. They published the recipe in the February issue in 1978. This favorite recipe was submitted by a Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, N.C. But Mrs.Wiggins did not include an explanation of the cake's unusual name, which remains a mystery to today.

The cake probably has been around much longer by other names, according to the food history Web site, FoodTimeLine .org, in 1985 Arkansas Gazette article says the cake also was called Cake That Doesn't Last, Never Ending Cake, Granny's Best Cake and Cake That Won't Last.

The hummingbird is known to drawn to intensely sweet sources, they are able to assess the amount of sugar in the nectar they eat; they reject flower types that produce nectar which is less than 12% sugar and prefer those whose sugar content is around 25%. This southern delicacy certainly fits the "sweetness" category.

Thank you for your support and question.

Sunday 12 July 2009, 06:57

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