Prep Time : 15 + 15 Minutes | Cook Time : 30 Minutes | Total Time : 3 hours | Difficulty : Moderate
Hello my lovelies! A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of being a judge for a the Great UnionAID Bake Off. It was a fundraiser for union efforts in countries that really need support for their workers. I had an amazing time meeting people and pretending to know what I’m talking about! There were some fabulous bakes and the overall winner is a recipe that had eluded me over the past few years. So being shameless as I am I asked for the recipe… Here is Sarah’s Hummingbird Cake. I have made only very minor tweaks (adding some salt and vanilla, and adding conversions) but this is her recipe. Congratulations on a well deserved win in aid of a good cause Sarah.
My brain is already working on an awesome variation of this type of cake that will come to you later in the year when I’ve worked out the nuts and bolts. In the meantime the key to this cake is well flavoured fruit. Use VERY ripe bananas and a good brand of pineapple that is packed in juice not syrup. The little bit of cinnamon, salt and vanilla round out the flavour and give it fullness. Pecans have a softer nuttiness that walnuts but use what you prefer or have on hand. Cut the nuts into fairly small pieces so they don’t get in the way of slicing the cake later.
Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Line two 8 inch round pans with baking paper and grease the sides. Crack your can of pineapple and tip it into a sieve over a bowl to drain while you do the next few steps. You want it to drain a bit but not lose all it’s juice so don’t prod it too much.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well until each has been combined into the fluffiness.
Weigh your pineapple. You should have 300 grams. If you don’t then top it up with a little of the juice you collected. The juice helps with the pineapple flavour and to activate the baking soda.
Mash the banana and mix together with the pineapple and vanilla extract. For very smooth banana zap it with a stick blender. Add to the creamed mixture and stir just a bit to start distributing the goo.
Add the flour, baking soda, pecans, cinnamon and salt. Fold until all the ingredients are just combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the cakes are well browned and risen, and they spring back when gently pressed in the centre. Test them with a skewer or cake tester as well – it should come out clean when inserted in the centre.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cakes are completely cold you can split the cakes so you have 4 layers in total or just leave them as is.
To make the icing beat the butter and cream cheese together until soft and combined. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until fluffy.
Fill and ice the cake and decorate with toasted coconut or chopped toasted nuts.
All that’s left is to slice and impress!
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Hummingbird Cake
Prep Time : 15 + 15 mins | Cook Time : 30 mins | Total Time : 3 hours | Difficulty : Moderate
Makes : An 8 inch layer cake
Soft flavourful cake full of banana, pineapple and pecans – .
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 1 cup (225 grams) soft unsalted butter
- 1 + 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 + 1/2 cups mashed banana (about three)
- 1 cup (300 grams) drained crushed pineapple (from a 440 gram can)
- 3/4 cup (70 grams) roughly chopped pecans or walnuts
- 2 + 2/3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 7 ounces (200 grams) cream cheese
- 5 + 1/2 tablespoons (75 grams) soft unsalted butter
- 3 cups (450 grams) icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- Toasted coconut or pecans to decorate
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- Standing or hand-held electric mixer
- 2 x 8 inch round cake pans lined with baking paper
Directions:
Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Line two 8 inch round pans with baking paper and grease the sides. Crack your can of pineapple and tip it into a sieve over a bowl to drain while you do the next few steps.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well until each has been combined into the fluffiness.
Mash the banana and mix together with the pineapple and vanilla extract. For very smooth banana zap it with a stick blender. Add to the creamed mixture and stir just a bit to start distributing the goo.
Add the flour, baking soda, pecans, cinnamon and salt. Fold until all the ingredients are just combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the cakes are well browned and risen, and they spring back when gently pressed in the centre. Test them with a skewer or cake tester as well – it should come out clean when inserted in the centre.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cakes are completely cold you can split the cakes so you have 4 layers in total or just leave them as is.
To make the icing beat the butter and cream cheese together until soft and combined. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until fluffy.
Fill and ice the cake and decorate with toasted coconut or chopped toasted nuts.
Cook’s Notes:
- Keep your baking bananas in the freezer when they get brown – when they are thawed they break down very easily and have a lot of flavour.
- Use a can of pineapple in juice not syrup – this cake already has a lot of sugar and we don’t need more or it will be too sweet. We also need the acidity of the pineapple juice to activate the baking soda.
- To halve this cake for a small household you will need to divide an egg – crack the egg into a small bowl and weigh it to divide it in half.
– This cake will keep for 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature –
Adapted from Food Magazine.
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What makes a hummingbird cake a hummingbird cake? I didn’t know it was a thing. 🙂
It’s the combo of banana and pineapple really – I know we didn’t have it growing up but I can’t remember when I first heard of it…
I looked it up, it comes from the Carribbean and named after their national bird! Who knew?
Makes total sense 😀