Hummingbird Cupcakes
Hummingbird cake is a wonderful southern dessert secret. So secret in fact, that even I had never heard of this dessert until about a year ago. We were at a neighborhood block party and enjoying the most wonderful food. Did I ever mention that one of the best things about living in an older townhouse community filled with senior citizens is that all my neighbors are incredible cooks? Anyway, I had made my way through the appetizers and sampled all the incredible dishes. My husband and I were a little late getting to the dessert table, and were only able to sample a very small piece of the beautiful homemade banana, pineapple and nut cake. I was so enthralled in conversation, I forgot to ask who had made the wonderful cake, and what it was called. The next day, many of the woman were still talking about the delightful hummingbird cake. That was its name! And what a cute name for such a delicious cake. I found that this cake recipe was published in 1978 in Southern Living, and is apparently is their most requested recipe. You can make this recipe as the traditional cake, but I opted for the ever popular cupcakes. This was another cupcake that I made for our Share our Strength Great American Bake Sale. Be careful not to over beat the batter. The original recipe call for pecans, but I had walnuts on hand, so I used those. Lightly roast your nuts before using for extra flavor. I paired the cake with an easy cream cheese frosting.
Yield: Serves 4
Hummingbird Cupcakes
5.00 stars (1 reviews)
Loading...Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups chopped and mashed bananas, very ripe
For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together, and set aside.
Chop and mash bananas. Combine sugar and oil in stand mixer. Mix until well combined.
Add eggs one at a time until well-combined. Add flour and mix until just combined. Add vanilla extract, bananas and pineapple. Mix until just combined. Add nuts and mix just enough to incorporate.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cupcake.
For the frosting:
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make sure cream cheese is at room temperature, or frosting will be lumpy.
Mix with a hand mixer on low until combined, then on high about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
