Hummingbird Cake

So this is a great recipe I got from one of my favorite cook books.  After a few tweaks, I found this cake to be very similar to carrot cake - just without the carrot!  The combination of nuts, banana, and pineapple blends beautifully with the thick cream cheese frosting.  Hope you enjoy!

Cake

- 2 ¼ cup flour

- 1 ¼ cup sugar

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 cup vegetable oil, plus some to grease pans with

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup chopped pecans, plus some to decorate

- 3 large ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

- 4 oz canned crushed pineapple, plus 4 tbsp juice from the can

Frosting

- 1 package/brick cream cheese

- 4 tbsp butter

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 3 ½ cups confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use some oil to lightly grease two 9-inch layer cake pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper. 

 

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda into a large bowl.  Add eggs, oil, pecans, mashed bananas, pineapple, and pineapple juice.  Mix just till combined. 

Divide batter into both pans.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until firm to touch and golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temp (you can put them in the fridge or freezer on a rack if you are in a rush).

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.  Add confectioner’s sugar and beat until creamy and spreadable.  If the frosting is too firm, add milk by tbsp until desired consistency is obtained.

Frost the cooled cakes with the cream cheese frosting, spreading more chopped pecans over top to decorate.

Enjoy!