The look on everyone's face when I said that I made a Hummingbird Cake! You could tell that they never heard of such a thing before. I told them, just think of banana bread with pineapple in it. No hummingbirds! LOL! My family cracks me up.
I have been wanting to make one of these cakes for years. It is so moist and delicious. It really is a perfect springtime dessert. I have made a couple of adjustments to a recipe I found in an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.
I reduced the amount of oil and added a bit of yogurt. Plus, I also reduced the amount of sugar. The recipe came out perfect and was not lacking in any way. As an extra bonus, this is an extremely simple cake to bake.
The other morning I surprised my yoga buddies by bringing them in some of this delicious cake. The name is quite interesting, and I was asked about the origins of the recipe. I had no idea! So, I hit Google as soon as I got home. I found this article from Jamie Oliver, The history of the Hummingbird cake. It is a very fun read and I was surprised to see that the cake originated in Jamaica!
This cake is so moist and full of flavor and it is perfect for springtime potlucks, picnics and family get together's.
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Hummingbird Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar (original recipe called for 2 cups)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounce can crushed pineapple with juice
½ cup canola oil (original recipe called for 1 cup oil)
½ cup vanilla yogurt (I added this instead of all the oil)
3 large eggs, well beaten
2 cups chopped banana, about 3 bananas
½ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (I didn't use any)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Glaze
1 cup or so powdered sugar
pineapple juicePreheat oven to 325 degrees
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
Remove 2 tablespoons of juice from the pineapple and set aside.
Add the pineapple, oil, yogurt, eggs, banana, vanilla and nuts to the flour. Stir just until blended.
Pour the mixture into a bundt pan coated with non-stick spray.
Bake the cake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until done.
Cool the cake for 15 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before adding glaze.
Mix the powdered sugar with the reserved pineapple juice and drizzle over cake. I think this recipe would also taste good with a cream cheese frosting.
Hummingbird Cake
Recipe
Hummingbird Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar original recipe called for 2 cups
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 ounce crushed pineapple with juice
- ½ cup canola oil original recipe called for 1 cup oil
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt I added this instead of all the oil
- 3 large eggs well beaten
- 2 cups banana chopped, about 3 bananas
- ½ cup walnuts or pecans finely chopped (optional)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons pineapple juice adjust liquid as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of juice from the pineapple and set aside.
- Add the pineapple, oil, yogurt, eggs, banana, vanilla and nuts to the flour. Stir just until blended.
- Pour the mixture into a bundt pan coated with non-stick spray.
- Bake the cake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until done.
- Cool the cake for 15 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before adding glaze.
- Mix the powdered sugar with the reserved pineapple juice and drizzle over cake. I think this recipe would also taste good with a cream cheese frosting.
Nutrition
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Margaret cachia
Hi, what Bundt size tin did you use for the Humming Bird cake pls ?
Cook This Again, Mom!
Hi,
It is a standard 10" pan.
Lynda
I completely forgot to add the sugar! I only realized it after the cake was baked and I was trying to figure out why it hadn’t risen. As an FYI, the recipe makes amazing, thick pancakes when you leave out the sugar. LOL It was a complete accident but now I’m going to try making pancakes with zucchini bread or pumpkin bread recipes. I loved the flavor of these and would make again including the sugar as was intended.
Cook This Again, Mom!
Oh my! I love it when mistakes lead to something good! Glad you enjoyed the recipe and I will have to give the pancakes a try.