Sweetest From Scratch Hummingbird Cake
This recipe for Sweetest From Scratch Hummingbird Cake is one that's sure to be in your family for years. It's so easy to make, and tastes absolutely divine. Get ready to impress your friends with this delightful hummingbird cake! There are a few steps involved in making this cake come together, however, you won't be disappointed you spent the extra time. If the mashed banana, cinnamon, vanilla, pineapple and pecan cake batter isn't enough to make you drool, just wait until you mix up the heavenly, vanilla-cream cheese frosting that goes in between the layers and all over the top - you won't be able to eat just one slice!
Notes
- History Lesson: Hummingbird Cake is a specific 2-layer cake with bananas, pineapple and nuts in the batter usually identified as a typical Southern dessert. It was an old recipe of the south but only received this name in the 1970s when it appeared in Southern Living magazine. It was made universally popular by Oprah’s then-chef Art Smith in the 1990s in his television and personal appearances and at his Table 52 restaurant.
- Vanilla paste is a unique ingredient of vanilla seeds in a thick, syrupy form, available at specialty baking stores or websites and is extremely flavorful. It can be substituted one-to-one for regular liquid vanilla.
Learn how to frost a layered cake quick and easy with this simple video:
Serves12
Chilling Time20 min
Cooking Time40 min
Cooking MethodOven
Cooking Vessel SizeTwo 9-inch cake pans
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
- 1 cup drained crushed pineapple
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla paste
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- For the Frosting:
- 16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla or vanilla paste
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans plus whole pecans for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by greasing well and lining with circles of parchment paper, greased on both sides.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and pecans together in a large bowl and stir well with a whisk.
- In another bowl, combine bananas, pineapple, oil, eggs and vanilla and stir well until well mixed. In two batches, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring just until dry particles are wet – do not overbeat.
- Divide and spoon batter into the two prepared pans, smoothing the tops. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a layer comes out clean. Place cakes on a cooling rack for 3 minutes, then turn out on cooling racks and very carefully remove the parchment. Allow layers to cool completely before assembling.
- While layers are cooling, prepare the frosting by whipping cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer until completely smooth. With the mixer on low, slowly add the powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in the remaining pecans, or you may choose to use those for a garnish on top, along with the pecan halves.
- To assemble the cake, place one layer on a serving plate, bottom side up. Spread with frosting, just up to the edges. Place the second layer, again bottom side up, on top and press gently to settle it into place. Using an offset spatula, spread top and sides with a small amount of frosting (called a crumb coating) for an even, thin coating. Chill cake for 20 minutes, then continue to frost top and sides with the remaining frosting (keep the frosting on the counter until ready to use; do not refrigerate it).
- Garnish the cake with pecan halves as desired. Refrigerate the cake to keep it cool until ready to serve.
Step-by-Step:
Begin by combining your dry ingredients (using a whisk) together in a large bowl:
In another smaller bowl, whisk your eggs together:
Drain your pineapple chunks:
Pour pineapple into your egg mixture and combine:
Next, pour mashed banana into the mixture and combine:
Pour your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl:
Then, combine the wet and dry ingredients by pouring the wet over the dry and mixing together:
Pour vegetable oil over the mixture and mix well:
When everything is combined thoroughly, it should look like this:
Add the nuts and mix well:
Next, pour and spread the mixture into your two 9-inch baking pans:
Place them in the oven:
Bake the cakes at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes:
Once they're done, take them out of the oven, and let them cool on a cooling rack like so:
Next, you're going to take the cakes out of their pans by flipping them over using two smaller cooling racks on either side:
Lastly, you will finish your cake by frosting the top of one, stacking the other on top, frosting it, and then garnishing it pecans and pineapple slices if desired. The final cake should look similar to this:
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