Hummingbird Cake

Before you start

Hummingbird cake is a Southern layer cake with the texture of a very tender quick bread. Mashed ripe bananas, crushed pineapple with its juice, toasted pecans and a little cinnamon go into an oil-based batter that needs no mixer. The fruit keeps the layers moist for days, and cream cheese frosting balances the sweetness with tang.

Two things keep it from turning heavy. Use bananas that are heavily speckled or brown, since they mash smoothly and carry more flavor, and stir the batter only until the flour disappears. Because the layers are so soft, chill them briefly before frosting and use a light hand with the spatula, or crumbs will drag into the frosting.

Ingredients

• Cake375 g (3 cups) all-purpose flour
• 400 g (2 cups) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs — lightly beaten
• 240 ml (1 cup) vegetable or other neutral oil
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 can (227 g / 8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice — undrained
• 450 g (2 cups mashed) very ripe bananas — about 4 medium
• 120 g (1 cup) pecans — toasted and chopped
• Frosting450 g (two 8-oz blocks) full-fat cream cheese — softened but cool
• 225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter — softened
• 480 g (4 cups) powdered sugar — sifted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch fine salt
• Garnish60 g (½ cup) pecans — toasted and chopped

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease the pans, line the bottoms with parchment and grease the parchment.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
3. Add the eggs, oil and vanilla and stir with a spatula until the dry ingredients are mostly moistened. Stir in the pineapple with its juice, the bananas and 120 g pecans, just until no dry flour remains. The batter will be thick and lumpy.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the pans, about 650 g each, and smooth the tops.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the layers are golden, the centers spring back and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks and cool completely, about 1½ hours.
6. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and beat on low, then on medium for 1 minute, until fluffy. Do not overbeat, or the frosting softens.
7. Set one layer on a plate and spread it with about 1 cup of frosting. Repeat with the second layer, top with the third and cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
8. Press the garnish pecans around the bottom edge or scatter them on top. Chill for 30 minutes before slicing.

Tips for success

• Toast all the pecans together at 175°C (350°F) for 7 to 9 minutes, until fragrant, then split them between the batter and the garnish.
• If the layers are very soft, freeze them for 20 minutes before stacking. Cold layers shed fewer crumbs.
• Keep the cream cheese cool-soft rather than warm; overly soft cream cheese makes a runny frosting.

Substitutions

Pecans

Use walnuts, or leave the nuts out for a nut-free cake. Add 50 g sweetened shredded coconut for texture instead if you like.

Vegetable oil

Use melted and cooled butter for a richer taste. The layers firm up more in the refrigerator.

Three 23 cm pans

Bake in a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) pan for 40 to 45 minutes and frost the top only, using half the frosting.

Variations

Hummingbird sheet cake

Bake in a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) pan as noted above and frost with half the frosting recipe.

Coconut hummingbird cake

Fold 60 g sweetened shredded coconut into the batter and press toasted coconut onto the sides of the frosted cake.

Troubleshooting

Layers are gummy in the middle

The bananas were measured by count instead of weight, adding too much moisture, or the layers were underbaked. Weigh the mashed banana and test the center with a toothpick.

Frosting is too soft to spread

The cream cheese or butter was too warm, or it was overbeaten. Chill the frosting for 20 to 30 minutes and stir it briefly before using.

Layers domed unevenly

Batter was not divided evenly or the oven has hot spots. Weigh each pan of batter and rotate the pans halfway through baking.

Storage

Because of the cream cheese frosting, keep the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and do not leave it out longer than 2 hours. Unfrosted layers can be wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Raw batter contains raw egg and flour; do not taste it. Contains wheat, egg, milk and tree nuts (pecans).