In 1978 a woman named L. H. Wiggins of Greensboro N.C. shared a recipe for Hummingbird Cake with Southern living magazine. It was published under the heading, “Making the Best of Bananas.” To this day, Hummingbird Cake is the most requested recipe Southern Living has ever published.

Through the years, Southern Living has tweaked the recipe making it lower in fat and calories (the original recipe had double the frosting and more oil in the cake). Even with all the changes, the bananas and pineapple make the cake very moist. And of course it has a decadent cream cheese frosting. I have made my own adjustments to the recipe and hope your family enjoys Hummingbird Cake as much as mine does!

Hummingbird Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon iodized salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 cups chopped, ripe speckled bananas, about 3 and 1/2 bananas
One 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canola oil (add last)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Place the chopped pecans in a pie pan and bake for 5 to 7 minutes until toasted. Remove from oven and pour into a small bowl.

In a medium size bowl mix the first 5 dry ingredients together and set aside. In another large bowl mix the eggs, pecans, bananas, pineapple, and vanilla extract together. Add the oil and dry ingredients and stir just until moistened making sure there are no lumps.

Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven. Run a knife around the edge of the pan as soon as you take them out of the oven. Let cool 10 minutes then remove from cake pans and let cool completely on wire racks for at least an hour.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces Real Cream Cheese (not Neufchatel), softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
One 16 ounce box plus 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

With a mixer on medium high speed combine cream cheese and butter for 4 minutes. Stop. Scrape bowl down, add powdered sugar and mix on low  until smooth. Scrape bowl down again. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Enjoy!

Published in The News and Neighbor on May 31, 2014