Super Moist Hummingbird Cake Recipe: The Secret to Hummingbird Cake (and Some History, Too) by Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead

My local book club read the book The Secret to Hummingbird Cake a couple of years ago. I had never heard of hummingbird cake before reading the book! A book club friend made the cake for our post-discussion potluck. We all enjoyed it. I’ve been intrigued by hummingbird cake and its origins ever since.

The cake’s key ingredients are bananas and pineapple. It is named for its home country, Jamaica, where the hummingbird is the national bird. According to chef Jamie Oliver, “originally, it was called the 'Doctor bird cake,' a nickname for a Jamaican variety of hummingbird called the Red-billed Streamertail. The name came from the way the bird’s long beak probes flowers, like a doctor inspecting a patient … Some say the cake was named after the bird because it was sweet enough to attract hummingbirds (who eat only nectar), while others say the yellow streaks of banana [were] reminiscent of the bird’s plumage.”

So interesting! To me, hummingbird cake tastes like a mix of banana bread and carrot cake (minus the carrots and raisins!). Regardless of its name, it is sweet and delicious cake recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

Cuisine: Jamaican
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes
Servings: 15

Ingredients

Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 cups mashed bananas
• 1 cup chopped black walnuts

Frosting

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 pound butter, softened
• 1 pound (16 ounces) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnishes (Optional)

• chopped walnuts and/or slivered almonds

Here's how to make it: 

1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine oil, eggs, pineapple, bananas and nuts. Add flour mixture and mix together by hand.
3. Pour batter into two 9-inch cake pans that have been greased and floured. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in center of each pan comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling racks.
4. Prepare the frosting by blending together the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Evenly spread frosting on all sides of cake (I recommend using a rubber spatula). You can decorate it with walnut or pecan halves and/or slivered almonds.

Note: To make a four-layer cake, carefully slice the cooled cake layers in half lengthwise.

Need help converting cooking and baking measurements? Here are some handy kitchen conversion charts.

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Related Products on Amazon We Think You May Like:

The Secret Hummingbird Cake $15

Crushed Pineapple $2 & Up

Flour $2 & Up

Granulated Sugar $2 & Up

Baking Soda $1 & Up

Canola Oil $2 & Up

Walnuts $3 & Up

Vanilla Extract $4 & Up

Powdered Sugar $2 & Up

Slivered Almonds $4 & Up

9-inch Cake Pans $8 & Up

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