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Hummingbird Cake


When I saw a picture of this cake, I had to try it and if you have any reason to make a cake for a special occasion in the near future, this is easier than it looks. I got the recipe from Danielle, a dear friend of my daughter, who made it for her little girl’s birthday. Danielle, whom I admire for her creativity and ability to make things beautiful, gives credit to Martha Stewart.

Cake Ingredients:
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil +1/4 cup pineapple juice
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups white or brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups mashed bananas
  • 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut
Frosting:
  • 12 oz cream cheese
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • ¾ cup butter, room temp
  • 4 cups confectioners sugar (approx)
Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add sugar , beating until right consistency for spreading. Can be refrigerated for several days. bring to room temp before using.
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. (rack mid level) Grease two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Grease paper (if using wax paper) and sides of pan, then dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.
  2. In med bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside
  3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla well, stir in oil until combined. Beat until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.
  4. Add bananas, pineapple, coconut and nuts, stirring until combined. 
  5. Add flour mixture, blending well.
  6. Divide batter between two pans. 
  7. Bake until golden brown and cake tests done, 30 - 40 minutes.
  8. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool 10-15 min. Run a knife along edge of cakes. Invert onto racks. Remove paper and cool completely. (Assemble cake or freeze for another day)
  9. With serrated knife, trim and discard rounded top off one layer. Place layer on serving platter. Spread top with ¼ inch of frosting. Top with untrimmed layer. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining frosting. Decorate with pineapple flowers.


Dried Pineapple Flowers
  1. Preheat oven to 225 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Slice off top and bottom of pineapple. Standing pineapple on end, peel off sections, cutting in a downward motion. Trim to remove eyes or use a small spoon to scoop.
  3. Slice pineapple into very thin slices and place on baking sheets. The thinner you cut the slices, the faster they will dry and the brighter the color will be. 
  4. Bake until tops look dried, about 30-40 minutes. Flip slices (at this time I cut some indentations into the sides so that the petals would be more exaggerated) and bake until completely dried, about another 20 minutes. I used convection bake which has a fan on it, and that worked well. You can also put them on a cooling rack in the oven for the last part of drying.
  5. Cool on rack. You can make these ahead and store them in a muffin tray – slip into plastic bag and refrigerated up to three days.

25 comments:

  1. I have to be honest here. ..
    When I saw the lovely flowers on the cake and then scrolled down and saw how you did that. . .
    I thought. . .Oh good grief. . that girl is amazing.
    I love how you did this, and I will sure be copying it super soon.
    Hummingbird cake is so delicious, it keeps for ages too.

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  2. i have made this before and it is a great cake.....this blogs reminded me about it......i think i'll make it for Easter!

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  3. That looks amazing! And here I thought you had decorated it with silk flowers. Very pretty.

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  4. How beautiful. What a great idea and one that I could actually do!

    thanks!

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  5. Your cake looks WAY more appealing and delicious than the Martha one!

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  6. A work of art Anneliese. You are the most amazing baker, and your food presentation is extaordinar!! I will be sure to try my hand at the flowers and wow some of my favorite people with a treat. Thanks for the recipe and the helpful photos to go along with it. You got me hummin'. Kathy

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  7. I love the "how to" for the pineapple flowers. You are amazingly creative! I thought they were real flowers until I saw the instructions. I have heard hummingbird cake is wonderful so I look forward to trying it on my family.

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  8. Oh how I love hummingbird cake. It has been a long time since I baked or had a bite of one. I guess i have an excuse to make one now.

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  9. That looks good enough to NOT eat it ! It would be a shame !! But who could resist ???
    A gorgeous cake !!

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  10. A familiar cake, but you have outdone yourself with those pineapple flowers. This idea I will have to try.

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  11. I must tell you that I am extremely impressed with your talent! Baking can be hard but oohhh sooo good!!! This looks so amazing, I may have to try it out for Easter. I hope that mine turns out looking half as good as yours does! Ahhh, the cravings have set in!

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  12. What a beautiful cake Anneliese. Did you put toasted coconut on the outside? Like the others who commented - this may be the cake to make for Easter. Thanks for the great pictures on how to do it.

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  13. Anneliese. . .how big is that can of pineapple? I was about to start .. .and found the road block.

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  14. Lovella, sorry I can picture the can, it's about 1 cup size - the origianl recipe says 8 oz. (I need an editor)

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  15. Wow! This is close to being the perfect cake! Beautifully done!

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  16. Thanks for the flower class. I believe this would be wonderful for Easter. So Springy!? Is that a word?
    I remember a daffodil cake from years back. Anyone else remember this one?

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  17. Oh my, Ellen what wonderful goodies you tempt us with!!!

    That sweet little cloche you mentioned is now , as of today, no more! Came home to find my pretty vignette all in shambles as my kitty decided it was play time since we were gone!!! Good thing I only paid .50 yet will I ever find one so cute again??????

    I am going to try the pineapple flowers- I love using my dehydrater (am doing a blog in a few days about Candied Lemon peels ) and this looks like one to definately try!!

    blessings
    mary

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  18. wow, love the pineapple flowers! What a perfect idea :)

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  19. I made this cake for a birthday party yesterday and everybody raved about it when they saw it and then second raves when they tasted it! I thought it was quite a labour of love to make, but well worth it in the end. One thing, it didn't rise much and I wonder if I did something wrong or whether it's just the nature of the cake (quite like carrot cake)? Thanks so much for the recipe.

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  20. Yes, it is more like a carrot cake and the decorating methods are interchangeable. Works great with both cakes.

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  21. I have got to try this cake! It looks SO good!

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  22. Making this today, this Mother's Day for my sweet little Fleur, born May 8th 19 years ago.
    Happy birthday sweetheart.

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  23. I made this cake last month for a special friends birthday and decorated it with the pineapple flowers. Oh my goodness it turned out beautifully and tasted sooo good! I am not a decorater but this I could do! So I am just starting to make another one for my family now. ( but I'm not decorating it this time). Thanks for the great recipe!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for reminding me about this cake! So glad it worked out well for you!

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