Hummingbird Cake

When I saw a picture of this cake, I had to try it and if you have any reason to make a cake for a special occasion in the near future, this is easier than it looks. I got the recipe from Danielle, a dear friend of my daughter, who made it for her little girl’s birthday. Danielle, whom I admire for her creativity and ability to make things beautiful, gives credit to Martha Stewart.

Cake Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup vegetable oil +1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups white or brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups mashed bananas
• 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut

Frosting:

• 12 oz cream cheese
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup butter, room temp
• 4 cups confectioners sugar (approx)

Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add sugar , beating until right consistency for spreading. Can be refrigerated for several days. bring to room temp before using.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. (rack mid level) Grease two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Grease paper (if using wax paper) and sides of pan, then dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.
2. In med bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla well, stir in oil until combined. Beat until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.
4. Add bananas, pineapple, coconut and nuts, stirring until combined. 
5. Add flour mixture, blending well.
6. Divide batter between two pans. 
7. Bake until golden brown and cake tests done, 30 - 40 minutes.
8. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool 10-15 min. Run a knife along edge of cakes. Invert onto racks. Remove paper and cool completely. (Assemble cake or freeze for another day)
9. With serrated knife, trim and discard rounded top off one layer. Place layer on serving platter. Spread top with ¼ inch of frosting. Top with untrimmed layer. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining frosting. Decorate with pineapple flowers.

Dried Pineapple Flowers

1. Preheat oven to 225 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Slice off top and bottom of pineapple. Standing pineapple on end, peel off sections, cutting in a downward motion. Trim to remove eyes or use a small spoon to scoop.
3. Slice pineapple into very thin slices and place on baking sheets. The thinner you cut the slices, the faster they will dry and the brighter the color will be. 
4. Bake until tops look dried, about 30-40 minutes. Flip slices (at this time I cut some indentations into the sides so that the petals would be more exaggerated) and bake until completely dried, about another 20 minutes. I used convection bake which has a fan on it, and that worked well. You can also put them on a cooling rack in the oven for the last part of drying.
5. Cool on rack. You can make these ahead and store them in a muffin tray – slip into plastic bag and refrigerated up to three days.

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