CAKE WEEK - Hummingbird Cake

I love the name of this cake. It sounds so interesting. I have no idea where the name comes from. The best guess is that the cake is so named because it comes close to the sweetness of the nectar that hummingbirds love to feed on. I have been looking at this recipe since the beginning of summer. It definitely seems like a summer cookout type of cake. I haven't tried making it yet. With my recent track record, I'm a little nervous to try it. Maybe next summer! I did do some reading on the Internet about how this cake came into being. The recipe was published in the February 1978 issue of Southern Living Magazine and afterwards it gained widespread popularity. I also learned that the recipe was submitted by a Mrs. L. H. Wiggins of Greensboro North Carolina. It consists of two or three layers of cake full of chopped pecans, crushed pineapple, and mashed bananas that are filled and frosted with a delicious cream cheese icing. Someone out there needs to try making this cake and report back to me!

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

Ingredients:

· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 cups granulated sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 2 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 3 eggs, beaten
· 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
· 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
· 1 cup chopped pecans
· 2 cups chopped firm ripe banana

Cream Cheese Frosting:

· 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
· 1 cup butter, room temperature
· 2 pounds confectioners' sugar
· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and salad oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and 1 cup pecans. Stir in the bananas. Spoon the batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting: Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Frost the tops of all 3 layers, stack and then frost sides. Sprinkle top evenly with the 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans.

The Creative Cook