In an older post, a recipe for Southern Living’s Hummingbird cake was shared. I consider this the standard and like it very much. A cake whose playful name is not an ingredient but something that would enjoy the sweet fruit used in the cake. I live in the South, technically, I think north of Florida is more Southern than Florida, but anyway I am intrigued by how many times people have shared family stories about Hummingbird cake whenever I make it and take it to a function. I never heard of it when I lived in New England. Do you have a family memory of this old time recipe? Do you change it at all? https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/hummingbird-cake-recipe
by TravelingAllen
6 Comments
Does anyone know y it’s called a hummingbird cake by any chance? I’ve always wanted to know
I grew up in Louisiana and Texas. That cake was at every family reunion. My son asked for it on his birthday. I served it as a tiered cake at the reception after his Eagle Scout ceremony. Several people came up to ask what kind of cake it was because they had never tasted it before. I was shocked! The cake was 3 tiers, and there wasn’t a crumb left.
Comedian David Sedaris talks about this cake a lot, his sister, Amy, published a recipe for it in her humor book and says her brother brings it to the family holiday celebration every year.
I love the taste but it’s a labor intensive bake so I don’t make it often!
Is there any reason for making it a layer cake? I haven’t made a layer cake in years. Just everything in a 9×13 cake pan.
I live in Southern California and I had never heard of it until I worked at a bakery that made it. They usually described it as a sort of tropical banana bread/carrot cake (without the carrots. We also had pineapple in our carrot cake) It’s my favorite damn cake and nobody here knows about it. I prefer it as a cupcake/muffin. But when I gift it, I often do a bundt cake with a cream cheese frosting drizzle because I’m lazy.