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

Cake Week - White's Fudge Cake

I made this cake on Saturday for a BBQ. Almost everyone liked it. I can discount the boy who said it was "nasty" because I found out that he doesn't like chocolate. My friend told me it was just "so so" but the next time I talked to her she changed her tune. She said she had eaten a piece the next day and it tasted much better to her. Everyone else who ate it, absolutely loved it. My recommendation is to use a large tube pan because my 10-inch bundt pan wasn't big enough to contain all of the batter for this cake. I also think that I will increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees. It wasn't completely done when I took it out of the oven at 300 degrees after the one hour and 20 minutes or more it was in there.

White's Fudge Cake
Makes a 10-inch Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 4-ounce bars sweet baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups mini-morsel chips
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons shortening

Cream butter in a large mixing bowl,gradually adding the sugar. Beat well on medium speed of an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Combine buttermilk and soda, stirring well. Add to creamed mixture alternately with flour, beginning and ending with flour. Add melted chocolate, chocolate syrup and vanilla. Mix well and stir in 1 cup of mini-morsels.

Pour batter into heavily greased and floured 10-inch bundt pan (or tube pan). Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert cake immediately onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

Combine 4 ounces white chocolate and 2 tablespoons shortening in top of a double boiler and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and drizzle mixture over the cooled cake.

Next, melt remaining 1/2 cup of mini-morsels and 2 teaspoons shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, let cool and drizzle over white chocolate. Garnish with chocolate and white chocolate leaves.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook