Hummingbird Cake

This was the dessert I made for the Southern themed dinner hosted by my friend Gina for our dinner group.  This was a really delicious (and surprisingly easy) cake to make.  I thought that I would have tasted the pineapple but perhaps it was just there to provide moisture.  I heard that this is also made with coconut which would have been delicious. I'm not sure why the directions say to add the pecans to the frosting.  That seemed a little strange to me so I just chopped them up and added them around the sides. This was a wonderful dessert that I'd make again!
 

Humming Bird Cake

From JoyofBaking.com

Ingredients:

1 cup (110 grams) pecans

3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup (180 ml) safflower, corn, or canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) can crushed pineapple, do not drain

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium sized bananas)

Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound box (454 grams) (about 3 2/3 cups) powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (55 grams) finely chopped pecans


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper.

Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop finely.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In another large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, pineapple, mashed bananas, and finely chopped pecans. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and cream cheese, on low speed, until very smooth with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and then stir in the finely chopped pecans.

To assemble: place one cake, top side down, onto your serving platter. Spread with about a third of the frosting. Gently place the other cake layer, top of cake facing up, onto the frosting, and spread the rest of the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish with pecan halves. Refrigerate the cake for about one hour so the frosting has time to set.

Serves 10 - 12 people.

Hummingbird Cake

This was the dessert I made for the Southern themed dinner hosted by my friend Gina for our dinner group.  This was a really delicious (and surprisingly easy) cake to make.  I thought that I would have tasted the pineapple but perhaps it was just there to provide moisture.  I heard that this is also made with coconut which would have been delicious. I'm not sure why the directions say to add the pecans to the frosting.  That seemed a little strange to me so I just chopped them up and added them around the sides. This was a wonderful dessert that I'd make again!
 

Humming Bird Cake

From JoyofBaking.com

Ingredients:

1 cup (110 grams) pecans

3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup (180 ml) safflower, corn, or canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) can crushed pineapple, do not drain

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium sized bananas)

Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound box (454 grams) (about 3 2/3 cups) powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (55 grams) finely chopped pecans


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper.

Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop finely.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In another large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, pineapple, mashed bananas, and finely chopped pecans. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and cream cheese, on low speed, until very smooth with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and then stir in the finely chopped pecans.

To assemble: place one cake, top side down, onto your serving platter. Spread with about a third of the frosting. Gently place the other cake layer, top of cake facing up, onto the frosting, and spread the rest of the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish with pecan halves. Refrigerate the cake for about one hour so the frosting has time to set.

Serves 10 - 12 people.

Easy and Festive Patriotic Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I know, I know, it's a little late for the 4th of July but that's okay because you can use this idea anytime this summer. Change the fruit on top to whatever you like. I even saw someone put roasted banana chips on top of their cupcakes recently. It looked fabulous!

This is really simple because I used a boxed cake mix. It's just safer that way for me but if you have a great white cake recipe definitely use it. The directions actually called for egg whites and the result was a a very light fluffy cupcake. Didn't taste like it was missing anything at all. The real kicker here is the cream cheese frosting. Who doesn't like that, right? It also is great for holding toppings. My friend DD from DDPie's Slice helped me out with the frosting but I did add a little extra cream cheese and therefore doubled the extracts. This is basically her recipe but she gave me the option of using shortening mixed with butter and told me to use water to thin it out. I just used a splash of milk....well, just because I never follow a recipe completely! haha Oh and sorry about the crappy picture. It was a long day and I was tired and was too rushed to take a picture in the morning.

Ingredients:

1 Betty Crocker White Cake mix - made into cupcakes according to box directions.
1 8oz bar of cream cheese - cold
1/2 stick of butter - room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract - I used DD's homemade!
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups powdered sugar
splash of milk to thin it out

Directions:

Cream the butter and cream cheese. Add in the extracts and salt and mix. Then begin adding the powdered sugar, half at a time, mixing in between additions. (You may need a little more or a little less sugar, depends on the humidity) You can also add just a few tablespoons of milk if you need to get it to spreading consistency.

Ice the cupcakes and then add whatever fruit you like on top. I slice the strawberries and put a strawberry slice and some blueberries on each one. I wanted all three colors, red, white and blue. You can do all blueberries or raspberries or anything else you want. You can even top them with nuts. Go to town!

I wasn't sure but I kept these refrigerated just in case. What do I know about baking? ;-)

Easy and Festive Patriotic Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I know, I know, it's a little late for the 4th of July but that's okay because you can use this idea anytime this summer. Change the fruit on top to whatever you like. I even saw someone put roasted banana chips on top of their cupcakes recently. It looked fabulous!

This is really simple because I used a boxed cake mix. It's just safer that way for me but if you have a great white cake recipe definitely use it. The directions actually called for egg whites and the result was a a very light fluffy cupcake. Didn't taste like it was missing anything at all. The real kicker here is the cream cheese frosting. Who doesn't like that, right? It also is great for holding toppings. My friend DD from DDPie's Slice helped me out with the frosting but I did add a little extra cream cheese and therefore doubled the extracts. This is basically her recipe but she gave me the option of using shortening mixed with butter and told me to use water to thin it out. I just used a splash of milk....well, just because I never follow a recipe completely! haha Oh and sorry about the crappy picture. It was a long day and I was tired and was too rushed to take a picture in the morning.

Ingredients:

1 Betty Crocker White Cake mix - made into cupcakes according to box directions.
1 8oz bar of cream cheese - cold
1/2 stick of butter - room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract - I used DD's homemade!
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups powdered sugar
splash of milk to thin it out

Directions:

Cream the butter and cream cheese. Add in the extracts and salt and mix. Then begin adding the powdered sugar, half at a time, mixing in between additions. (You may need a little more or a little less sugar, depends on the humidity) You can also add just a few tablespoons of milk if you need to get it to spreading consistency.

Ice the cupcakes and then add whatever fruit you like on top. I slice the strawberries and put a strawberry slice and some blueberries on each one. I wanted all three colors, red, white and blue. You can do all blueberries or raspberries or anything else you want. You can even top them with nuts. Go to town!

I wasn't sure but I kept these refrigerated just in case. What do I know about baking? ;-)