Simple Hummingbird Cake Recipe | Life, Love and Sugar

This Hummingbird Cake is made up of three layers of tender, moist cake loaded with banana, pineapple, pecans, and heat spices. The layers are stacked, crammed, and frosted with a clean, wealthy cream cheese frosting. A scrumptious and basic recipe!

Simple Hummingbird Cake Recipe

This hummingbird cake is certainly one of my favourite desserts. The mixture of the wealthy, candy taste of over-ripe banana, the tropical essence of pineapple, and the nutty crunch of toasted pecans are great. It’s additionally tremendous moist however not too dense, making it a dream to chew into. I’m not an enormous fan of banana-flavored desserts which might be as dense as banana bread and this one positively isn’t. Tie all of it along with a thick coat of velvety cream cheese frosting and also you’ve obtained your self the right dessert.

I had such enjoyable adapting my carrot cake recipe into this basic Southern-style dessert. You’re going to adore it simply as a lot as we do. That is positively a recipe you’ll come again to time and again.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This hummingbird cake is really certainly one of a sort. Listed here are a number of the causes I feel it’s so particular.

• Moist. Using oil along with the butter on this recipe makes the cake delightfully moist whereas nonetheless sustaining the richness that butter brings to the desk.
• Taste. I completely love something with banana, so the banana flavored cake is an ideal. With the addition of toasted pecans, the sweetness of the pineapple and simply the best spices, it’s a dream.
• Texture. This cake strikes the right stability between gentle and dense. The nuts, pineapple, and banana give a beautiful weight to this in any other case fluffy dessert making it an actual deal with to sink your tooth into.
• The frosting. I actually can’t get sufficient of it. This hummingbird cake stars my favourite cream cheese frosting. It’s wealthy, clean, and simply the correct quantity of candy.

What Is a Hummingbird Cake?

Hummingbird cake lands someplace between banana bread and carrot cake (with out the carrots). This basic cake originated in Jamaica. It’s a candy cake loaded with flavors and textures from the addition of pineapple, toasted nuts, and banana. Ultimately, Hummingbird cake migrated to the US and have become fairly well-liked within the South, the place the addition of cream cheese frosting took this tropical dessert excessive.

Recipe Elements

Right here’s what you’ll must make this straightforward hummingbird cake. Don’t overlook to scroll to the recipe card beneath for exact measurements.

For the hummingbird cake

• All-purpose flour – You’ll want to measure with both a food scale or utilizing the inside track and measure methodology to make sure to not over or underneath measure your flour. In any other case, you possibly can find yourself with a dense or dry cake.
• Leavening – This cake makes use of each baking soda and baking powder for the perfect rise and texture.
• Spices – Nutmeg and cinnamon are used on this cake for excellent taste.
• Unsalted butter – Ensure that the butter is at room-temperature in any other case it won’t cream correctly with the oil, sugars, and vanilla.
• Vegetable oil – The oil brings great moisture to this cake.
• Sugar – This cake makes use of each brown sugar and granulated sugar. They sweeten the cake and add moisture. The brown sugar additionally provides extra taste.
• Eggs – This cake makes use of entire eggs, in addition to an extra egg white for some added construction.
• Mashed overripe bananas – Search for well-speckled bananas; someplace between yellow and black. Yellow bananas gained’t be candy sufficient however overly ripe/rotten bananas will lend an disagreeable taste and will probably be too mushy to carry up effectively within the cake.
• Canned crushed pineapple – I used canned crushed pineapple, however you may crush contemporary pineapple as effectively. Both approach, remember to drain any extra liquid from the pineapple earlier than including it to the cake batter.
• Pecans – They’re greatest toasted. Toast them your self (simply bake them within the oven at 350 levels F for 5-10 minutes) or purchase a toasted product.

For the cream cheese frosting

• Cream cheese – The cream cheese must be at room temperature. In any other case, you will discover your self with a lumpy frosting.
• Butter – Ensure that the butter is at room temperature. Whether it is too chilly, it gained’t incorporate easily with the cream cheese and also you’ll end up with a lumpy frosting.
• Powdered sugar – This provides sweetness, quantity and construction to the frosting. You possibly can cut back it, however needless to say your frosting will probably be diminished in quantity and can find yourself softer and probably much less pipe-able.

Tips on how to Make a Hummingbird Cake

Able to dive into this dreamy hummingbird cake recipe? Right here’s a fast overview of find out how to make it. You’ll want to scroll to the recipe card beneath for extra thorough directions.

To make the cake 

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F, line the underside of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and grease the perimeters.
• Mix the dry elements. Whisk collectively the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
• Cream. Beat the butter, oil, sugars, and vanilla extract collectively till gentle in colour and fluffy.
• Add the eggs. Add the eggs and the egg whites, one after the other, mixing after every addition.

• Put all of it collectively. Add half of the dry elements to the batter. Combine till effectively mixed. Add the bananas. Combine to mix. Add the remaining dry elements. Combine to mix. Fold within the pineapple and pecans. Don’t over combine.
• Bake. Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for 27-Half-hour.
• Cool. Enable the desserts to chill for a few minutes of their pans earlier than transferring to cooling racks.

Frosting and meeting

• Make the frosting. Beat collectively the cream cheese and butter till clean. Combine in half of the powdered sugar adopted by the vanilla. Combine within the remaining powdered sugar.
• Flatten the desserts. Take away the domes from the cake layers with a big serrated knife.

• Layer. Place a cake layer on a serving plate and unfold 1 cup of frosting excessive earlier than stacking the subsequent cake layer on high and frosting. Repeat with the third cake layer and frost the skin of the cake.
• Beautify. Make a spiral sample on high and sides of the cake (see the recipe card for extra detailed directions). Pipe the remaining frosting in shells across the outer fringe of the cake. Garnish with chopped pecans if desired.
• Chill. Pop the cake within the fridge till you might be able to serve.

Suggestions for Success

Right here come just a few easy suggestions and tips that can enable you to obtain actually phenomenal outcomes. Pay shut consideration!

• Room temperature elements. The butter within the cake batter, in addition to the butter and cream cheese within the frosting, should be at room temperature. If the butter is just too chilly or too heat, it won’t cream correctly with the oil and sugars within the batter, providing you with an excessively dense cake. On the subject of the frosting, if the butter and cream cheese are too chilly, they gained’t incorporate effectively and can possible provide you with a lumpy frosting.
• Don’t skimp on cream time. When creaming collectively the butter, oil, sugars, and vanilla, accomplish that for a number of minutes. The combination ought to turn into fluffy and considerably lighter in colour. This course of provides loads of quantity to the cake. Skimping on this course of, or overdoing it, provides you with an excessively dense cake.
• Don’t over-mix. When combining the moist and dry elements, make certain to not over-mix. This will trigger the glutens within the flour to overdevelop, providing you with a troublesome, dense completed product.
• Scrape down the perimeters of the bowl. As you add elements to the batter and blend them in, scrape down the perimeters of the bowl intermittently to make sure that all the elements make it into the batter. Do that with the cream cheese frosting as effectively.
• Cool fully. Enable the desserts to chill fully earlier than making an attempt to fill, stack, and frost it. If the desserts are heat, the frosting will slide proper off.
• Toast the pecans. Toasting the nuts brings out their taste and makes them 10 instances higher. Don’t skip that step.
• Drain the pineapple. Whether or not you might be utilizing contemporary or canned pineapple, it’s essential to empty the fruit. Should you don’t, the surplus moisture added to the batter will throw off your baking time and the feel of the cake.

Widespread Questions

Right here come a number of the extra incessantly requested questions I get when the topic of hummingbird cake comes up. Extra questions? Be at liberty to publish them within the feedback part beneath.

Tips on how to Retailer Leftovers

• Fridge. Retailer the cake in an hermetic container or wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap. I like to make use of toothpicks to prop the plastic away from any decorations. You possibly can additionally slice the cake and organize the slices in a single layer in an hermetic container. Retailer the cake within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
• Freezer. Pop the cake within the freezer for a few hours to agency up earlier than wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap. Alternatively, slice the cake and organize the slices in a single layer in an hermetic container. You’ll be able to retailer the cake within the freezer for as much as 3 months.
• To serve. This cake is greatest loved at room temperature, so let it sit at room temperature for a bit earlier than serving. If frozen, thaw within the fridge after which set it out on the counter for a few hours earlier than serving.

Extra Layer Cake Recipes

On the lookout for extra cake inspiration? Listed here are just a few of my different favourite layer cake recipes.

Watch How To Make It

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Recipe

Hummingbird Cake

• 
  Writer: Lindsay Conchar
• 
  Prep Time: 1 hour quarter-hour
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  Cook dinner Time: Half-hour
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  Complete Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
• 
  Yield: 12-14 slices
• 
  Class: Dessert
• 
  Methodology: Oven
• 
  Delicacies: American

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Description

This Hummingbird Cake is tender, moist and scrumptious! It’s filled with banana, pineapple, pecans and spices! A straightforward cake lined in cream cheese frosting that you simply’ll simply fall in love with!

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Elements

For the hummingbird cake

• 2 1/2 cups (325g) all goal flour (measured correctly)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp floor cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
• 1 cup (225g) packed gentle brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (104g) granulated white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 massive eggs
• 1 massive egg white
• 1 3/4 cups mashed overripe banana (4–5 bananas)
• 1 cup drained, crushed pineapple (two 8 oz cans which have been drained effectively)
• 1 cup (107g) chopped pecans, toasted

For the cream cheese frosting

• 16 oz (452g) cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (172g) butter, room temperature
• 10 cups (1150g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

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Directions

To make the cake 

1. Put together three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles within the backside and grease the perimeters. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium sized bowl and put aside.
3. Add the butter, oil, sugars and vanilla extract to and enormous mixer bowl and beat collectively till gentle in colour and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Don’t skimp on the creaming time, however don’t over combine both.
4. Add the eggs one after the other, mixing till mixed after every, then add the egg white. Scrape down the perimeters of the bowl as wanted to make sure all elements are effectively integrated.
5. Add half of the dry elements to the batter and blend till effectively mixed.
6. Add the mashed bananas and blend till effectively mixed.
7. Add the remaining dry elements and blend till effectively mixed. Don’t over combine the batter.
8. Fold within the pineapple and pecans. Don’t over combine.
9. Divide the batter evenly between the desserts pans and bake for 27-Half-hour, or till a toothpick comes out clear.
10. Take away the desserts from the oven and permit to chill for about 2-3 minutes, then take away to cooling racks to chill fully.

To make the frosting

1. Add the cream cheese and butter to a big mixer bowl and beat till effectively mixed and clean.
2. Add about half of the powdered sugar and blend till effectively mixed and clean.
3. Add the vanilla extract and blend till effectively mixed.
4. Add the remaining powdered sugar and blend till effectively mixed and clean. Add roughly powdered sugar, as desired for consistency functions.

Assemble the cake

1. To place the cake collectively, use a big serrated knife to take away the domes from the highest of the desserts in order that they’re flat, if wanted. These desserts don’t have a big dome, however I like to ensure they’re fully flat.
2. Place the primary cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake spherical.
3. Unfold about 1 cup of frosting evenly on high of the cake.
4. Add the second layer of cake and one other cup of frosting.
5. High the cake with the remaining layer and frost the skin of the cake. Seek advice from my tutorial for frosting a clean cake, if wanted.
6. Use a 9 inch offset spatula to create the spiral sample on high of the cake. Place the tip of spatula within the heart of the cake and slowly flip the cake in circles, dragging the spatula by means of the frosting and shifting outwards with every accomplished flip till you attain the outer fringe of the cake. Use the identical spatula to cream the sample within the sides of the cake.
7. Use the remaining frosting to pipe shells across the outer fringe of the cake. I used Ateco tip 847.
8. End off the cake with some extra chopped pecans, if desired.
9. Refrigerate cake till able to serve. Set cake out for about 2 hours earlier than serving. Retailer cake in an air tight container. Cake is greatest if eaten inside 3-4 days.

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Vitamin

• Serving Measurement: 1 slice
• Energy: 932
• Sugar: 111.2 g
• Sodium: 260 mg
• Fats: 42.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 135.5 g
• Protein: 7.4 g
• Ldl cholesterol: 129.4 mg

Key phrases: hummingbird cake, hummingbird cake recipe, straightforward hummingbird cake