Hummingbird Cake



by TheLadyEve

1 Comment

  1. TheLadyEve

    **Hummingbird Cake** is a cake seen in the Southern U.S. but it was actually a creation of the Jamaica Tourist Board back in the 1960s. That’s where it gets its name, because the hummingbird is Jamaica’s national bird. It’s *not* a traditional Jamaican recipe in any way–it was a way to showcase Jamaican produce and exports, and the Jamaica Tourist Board actually sent the recipe to the U.S. as part of a press kit (culinary tourist outreach, if you will). In the mid-century U.S. we saw a bit surge in recipes involving tropical fruits (many factors here that would take too long to get into here but the United Fruit Company was a big part of it). The Hummingbird cake is an artifact of that, but it’s a truly delicious cake that, IMO, has maintained popularity for a reason.

    RECIPE:

    Source: [Southern Living](https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/hummingbird-cake-recipe)

    **Cake Layers:**

    3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

    2 cups granulated sugar

    1 tsp. table salt

    1 tsp. baking soda

    1 tsp. ground cinnamon

    3 large eggs, lightly beaten

    1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

    1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

    1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained (such as Publix Crushed Pineapple in Pineapple Juice)

    2 cups chopped bananas (about 4 medium bananas)

    1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

    Vegetable shortening

    **Cream Cheese Frosting:**

    2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

    1 cup unsalted butter, softened

    2 (16-oz.) packages powdered sugar

    2 tsp. vanilla extract

    Additional Ingredient:

    1 cup pecan halves, toasted

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