Simple Hummingbird Cake Recipe

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, stuffed, and frosted with a clean, wealthy cream cheese frosting. A scrumptious and traditional recipe!

A slice of hummingbird cake on a plate with a fork.

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

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

Closeup of hummingbird cake on a cake stand.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This hummingbird cake is actually considered one of a form. Listed here are a few of the causes I feel it’s so particular.

Moist. The usage of 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 correct 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 traditional 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 common within the South, the place the addition of cream cheese frosting took this tropical dessert excessive.

Recipe Elements

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

Ingredients for hummingbird cake separated into bowls.

For the hummingbird cake

All-purpose flour – Make sure you measure with both a food scale or utilizing the inside track and measure methodology to make sure to not over or beneath measure your flour. In any other case, you’ll be able to find yourself with a dense or dry cake.
Leavening – This cake makes use of each baking soda and baking powder for the best rise and texture.
Spices – Nutmeg and cinnamon are used on this cake for excellent taste.
Unsalted butter – Make certain that the butter is at room-temperature in any other case it is not going to cream correctly with the oil, sugars, and vanilla.
Vegetable oil – The oil brings fantastic 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 further taste.
Eggs – This cake makes use of complete eggs, in addition to a further egg white for some added construction.
Mashed overripe bananas – Search for well-speckled bananas; someplace between yellow and black. Yellow bananas received’t be candy sufficient however overly ripe/rotten bananas will lend an disagreeable taste and might 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 method, you’ll want 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 needs to be at room temperature. In any other case, you will discover your self with a lumpy frosting.
Butter – Make certain that the butter is at room temperature. Whether it is too chilly, it received’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 would scale back it, however understand that your frosting might be lowered in quantity and can find yourself softer and probably much less pipe-able.

Methods to Make a Hummingbird Cake

Able to dive into this dreamy hummingbird cake recipe? Right here’s a fast overview of how you can make it. Make sure you scroll to the recipe card under 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 substances. 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.

Whisking together dry ingredients for cake batter.

Creaming together butter, oil, sugars, and vanilla for cake batter.

Put all of it collectively. Add half of the dry substances to the batter. Combine till effectively mixed. Add the bananas. Combine to mix. Add the remaining dry substances. 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. Permit the truffles to chill for a few minutes of their pans earlier than transferring to cooling racks.

Folding crushed pineapple and toasted pecans into cake batter.

Cake batter divided between 3 cake pans.

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 truffles. Take away the domes from the cake layers with a big serrated knife.

Cream cheese frosting in a mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.

3 layers of cake divided by layers of cream cheese frosting.

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 surface of the cake.
Adorn. 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’re able to serve.

Suggestions for Success

Right here come a number of easy ideas and tips that can enable you obtain actually phenomenal outcomes. Pay shut consideration!

Room temperature substances. The butter within the cake batter, in addition to the butter and cream cheese within the frosting, have to be at room temperature. If the butter is just too chilly or too heat, it is not going to cream correctly with the oil and sugars within the batter, supplying you with a very dense cake. In the case of the frosting, if the butter and cream cheese are too chilly, they received’t incorporate effectively and can doubtless 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 change into fluffy and considerably lighter in colour. This course of provides plenty of quantity to the cake. Skimping on this course of, or overdoing it, provides you with a very dense cake.
Don’t over-mix. When combining the moist and dry substances, ensure to not over-mix. This will trigger the glutens within the flour to overdevelop, supplying you with a tricky, dense completed product.
Scrape down the perimeters of the bowl. As you add substances to the batter and blend them in, scrape down the perimeters of the bowl intermittently to make sure that the entire substances make it into the batter. Do that with the cream cheese frosting as effectively.
Cool fully. Permit the truffles to chill fully earlier than making an attempt to fill, stack, and frost it. If the truffles are heat, the frosting will slide proper off.
Toast the pecans. Toasting the nuts brings out their taste and makes them 10 occasions higher. Don’t skip that step.
Drain the pineapple. Whether or not you’re utilizing contemporary or canned pineapple, it’s essential to empty the fruit. For those who don’t, the surplus moisture added to the batter will throw off your baking time and the feel of the cake.

Hummingbird cake with a slice taken out of it.

Widespread Questions

Right here come a few of the extra often requested questions I get when the topic of hummingbird cake comes up. Extra questions? Be at liberty to submit them within the feedback part under.

Why is it referred to as a hummingbird cake?

The jury remains to be out however some theories recommend that the cake’s identify comes from its candy and fruity flavors. Candy just like the nectar that hummingbirds flock to.

What does a hummingbird cake style like?

Like the right combine between carrot cake and banana bread with a touch of the tropics. Nutty undertones from the pecans and a contact of heat spices make it merely irresistible.

How do you enhance a hummingbird cake?

Hummingbird cake is mostly embellished with cream cheese frosting and toasted nuts (I used pecans). Shredded coconut and/or contemporary fruit (often pineapple and/or banana) are sometimes added as effectively.

Methods 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 would 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

Searching for extra cake inspiration? Listed here are a number of of my different favourite layer cake recipes.

Watch How To Make It

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Simple Hummingbird Cake Recipe | Life, Love and Sugar