Hummingbird Cake has been around forever, well maybe not forever but when I was looking for a ‘new’ cake to make for my someone special I came across this recipe. While searching, one web site popped up with a link to the magazine Southern Living. The magazine had catalogued the appearance of the hummingbird cake recipe in its magazine over time. I think the first appearance was in 1971, but I’m sure moms and grandmas have been making this cake for much longer. I guess the best way to describe this cake is that it’s very similar to Italian Wedding Cake, which has nuts, spices, and I believed is topped with cream cheese frosting. However, the Hummingbird Cake has other yummy ingredients, like crushed pineapple, bananas, pecans, and cinnamon. I did end up frosting this cake with cream cheese frosting, which I thought was a bit too sweet. So, if I were to do it again I think I would just lightly dust the top with powdered sugar. Recipe below, enjoy!
Hummingbird Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used GF flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar (I used 1 3/4 cups)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (didn’t have this on hand so, I splashed a bit of rum in there…)
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, un-drained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas (5 or 6 bananas)
I did top the cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, but I would recommend dusting with powdered sugar
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