As you may know, I spent the last year and a half living in the south (South Carolina and then Georgia), and I absolutely loved it there. Due to health reasons, I had to come back home to Michigan for a little while, but I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be living in the south in the very near future! I miss it more than I can express in words, but since I can’t be there right now, I’ll have to settle for the next best thing: this traditional southern recipe for hummingbird cake!
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated by the Southeast United States, and I’ve always pictured myself living there. Don’t ask me how I learned to love it so quickly, because I honestly have no idea. I think I just woke up one morning when I was a little girl, decided I was going to live in the south, and then continued to dream about it from that point on. And ever since then, I have been obsessed with all things southern – the music, the clothing, the cooking and baking, the language, the way of life, and so on.
Several years ago when I was in the depth of my worst eating disorder days, I used to spend hours upon hours on Pinterest looking up recipes that I so badly wanted to make (and eat). Unfortunately, my eating disorder talked me out of making all of these and told me I “wasn’t allowed” to eat them, and I’m so disappointed in myself for that. But now that I’m starting to make my way back toward a healthy and recovered life, I’m slowly starting to make my way through all of those Pinterest recipes I’ve pinned over the years and test them out. Let’s just say I have a long way to go, but I’m slowly making progress!
The other day when I was going through my cakes and cupcakes board on Pinterest, I noticed I had several different recipes pinned for a hummingbird cake. The banana and pineapple combination has always been one of my favorites, so I thought that a hummingbird cake would be the perfect summer dessert to have.
As I was looking through the recipes I pinned, I took bits and pieces of each of them, made some minor tweaks myself, and then got started making it. Most of the recipes I saw called for mixing pecans right into the batter, however I completely forgot until after the batter was in the pan, so I ended up just sprinkling them on top and pushing them down slightly. After that, it was into the oven to work its magic!
When I opened the oven door halfway through to rotate the cake, it was already smelling heavenly. So you better believe that by the time the cake was actually finished, it smelled to-die-for. Just look at how golden and delicious it looks!
As the cake was cooling down, I got started whipping up the frosting. I knew a cream cheese frosting would taste absolutely delicious with the flavors of the cake, so that’s what I decided to make. Unfortunately, when I opened my fridge, I realized that I didn’t have any cream cheese on hand. That is, plain cream cheese. I did, however, have some flavored tubs from Melanie’s Medleys, and I figured that those would definitely work. I ended up choosing the vanilla, walnut, raisin flavor for this recipe , since that was the only one even somewhat similar to the flavors of the cake (I didn’t exactly think blueberry cream cheese or garlic and herb would be the best options in this cake). 
After creaming together the butter and cream cheese, I added some powdered sugar and liquid to mix it all together. Instead of using milk, like I normally would, I decided to use some reserved pineapple juice leftover from the cake to give it a more pineapple-y flavor. After that, I added some almond extract, mixed it all up until smooth and creamy, and then slathered it all over the cooled cake. 
By the time I was all done, I wanted to badly to dig in, but I stuck it in the fridge for a little bit to allow it to come down in temperature a bit. 
Then it was time to cut myself a nice big slice and dig in!
The cake was so dense and moist, and was packed full of flavor. Even though there were a lot of different flavors between the banana, pineapple, coconut, and pecans, everything blended together perfectly, and my taste buds were definitely satisfied. 
Even though I would’ve much preferred actually being in the south, since that’s not an option right now, this cake was the next best thing, and it made me so excited to move back down there. And hopefully, if all goes well, it will be pretty dang soon 🙂
Hummingbird Cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract or an additional 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 very ripe large bananas mashed
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple drained well, juice reserved
- ¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes optional
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 8-ounce brick plain cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tsp. almond extract or vanilla
- 2 ½ – 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 TBSP reserved pineapple juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F and lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Use a small mesh strainer to drain the pineapple, reserving the juice in a small bowl. Set aside for now.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, melted coconut oil, extracts, sugars, and mashed bananas.
- Once mixed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the drained pineapple, pecans, and coconut, if using.
- Pour the batter evenly into the pan and bake for about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. If it is still not baked all the way through, cover the cake loosely with a piece of aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before icing.
- Once cake is cooled, make the icing: using an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and almond extract for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar and continue to mix.
- Add pineapple juice, 1 TBSP at a time, to thin the mixture out. Continue to mix, adding more pineapple juice 1 TBSP at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- Spread the icing on top of your cooled cake.
- Keep refrigerated.
