Hummingbird Cake

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Until recently, I thought that a Hummingbird Cake was the same thing as a Carrot Cake! On one of my afternoon tea visits [I'm trying to find all the little tea shops in Northants!] I saw this cake and decided to try it, liked it so much that I had to make one. I need to take a cake for a retirement party tomorrow, so decided this was the time to make it.
It's based on a recipe from an old 'Living' cookbook.

preheat oven 180C/gas4                  Grease a 3x23cm sandwich tins and line bases.

In a bowl sift together 250g plain flour, 250g caster sugar, 1 tspn cinnamon and 1 tspn bicarb. To this add 3 beaten eggs, 200ml sunflower oil, 100g chopped pecan nuts [you need a few more to decorate the top], 3 ripe and mashed bananas and 85g tinned pineapple, chopped, and 4 tbspn of its juice from the tin. Beat this all together with a wooden spoon till its mixed well.
Divide the batter between the 3 tins then bake for 25-30 mins till golden and firm.
Leave cakes to cool in tins for 10 mins then turn onto wire racks.

Filling and topping: In a large bowl beat together - 175 full fat cream cheese [Philly], 55g butter and 1 tspn vanilla extract till smooth. Sift in 400g icing sugar and beat till smooth.

Use half the filling to sandwich the cakes together, then spread the rest on the top. Decorate with some more chopped pecans.







I'm sorry that the photo is a bit blurry. I really do need a new camera or a better photographer!

It's quite a large cake. I loved the mixture of textures - the crunchy nuts, soft fruit and the creamy topping. I'm still not a convert to pineapple, but it's not really a strong element in the cake. The cake itself is soft and moist. I still prefer Carrot Cake, but this runs a close second!

Comments

Phil in the Kitchen said…
Sounds very good to me. Hummingbird cake has been on my list of things to bake for quite a while but I've yet to get round to it. I know some people like to climb mountains and run vast distances but finding all the little tea shops in Northants sounds like a much more interesting challenge to me.
22/6/17 2:19 pm
Snowy said…
It's great fun, and you get to enjoy a delicious tea as a reward.
23/6/17 9:53 am
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