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Coconut Hummingbird Cake
4.6 from 72 votes

Coconut Hummingbird Cake

The Coconut Hummingbird Cake is a moist, richly spiced cake featuring mashed bananas, crushed pineapple with juice, and shredded sweetened coconut. Combined with warm spices like cinnamon and cloves, and baked into a tender crumb, this cake layers tropical flavors with classic Southern baking. The cake is frosted with a creamy, smooth cream cheese frosting and optionally garnished with toasted pecans, adding texture and nuttiness to contrast the soft, flavorful cake layers.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Cooling Time
1 hr
Total Time
2 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 18
Calories: 447 kcal
Course: Cake
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Hummingbird Cake
  • 4 banana about 2 cups mashed bananas, medium ripe
  • crushed pineapple with juice, one 8-ounce can
  • 1 cup coconut loosely packed to measure, sweetened shredded
  • 3 egg large
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves ground
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup butter softened, unsalted
  • 2 to 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup pecans optional for garnishing, toasted, chopped

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Make the Cake
  2. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 14-cup Bundt pan very well with floured cooking spray; or grease and flour the pan. See Note 1 below about pan options and considerations. Unless you have a huge 14-cup Bundt pan, you will likely need to bake some of the additional batter in a loaf pan or make three 9-inch round cakes. Read the Note in detail.
  3. To a very large bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the bananas and beat them with a handheld electric mixer or with the paddle attachment until they're mashed.
  4. Add the pineapple with juice, coconut, eggs, oil, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, and beat on medium-high speed to incorporate.
  5. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and beat until just combined. Turn batter out in prepared pan(s), don't fill any pan more than 2/3 to 3/4-full, and bake until done.
  6. Baking Time Approximations: About 1 hour for a 14-cup Bundt, about 46 to 50 minutes for a 12-cup Bundt + one 8x4-inch loaf (this was what I did and baked both for 49 minutes), about 25 to 30 minutes for three 9-inch round cakes, and about 60-70 minutes for two 9x5-inch loaf pans. Baking times will obviously vary based on your pan setup.
  7. Allow cakes/loafs to cool in pans for about 20 minutes before turning out and allowing them to cool fulling on a wire rack or cake stand. Don't add the frosting until completely cooled.
  8. Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
  9. To a large bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese, butter, and beat together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
  10. Add 2 cups confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt, and beat to combine. Based on the desired consistency of the frosting, add additional confectioners' sugar, if necessary.
  11. Add frosting to the top perimeter of the cake, or as desired. If you have additional frosting (likely), it will keep airtight in the fridge for many weeks for another baking project.
  12. Optionally garnish with pecans before serving.

Notes

  • If your batter does not fit into one pan, consider baking in a 12-cup Bundt plus an 8x4 loaf pan or divide into smaller layer pans as described.
  • The cake keeps well: frosted cake stays fresh up to 5 days refrigerated; unfrosted at room temperature for 5 days or frozen for up to 4 months.
  • Alternative baking methods and times are provided for different pan sizes, but times may vary; watch for doneness.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1 Calories 447kcal (22%) Carbohydrates 80g (27%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 13g (20%) Saturated Fat 7g (35%) Polyunsaturated Fat 5g (29%) Cholesterol 57mg (19%) Sodium 229mg (10%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 59g (118%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 18 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 447

% Daily Value*

Serving 1
Calories 447kcal 22%
Carbohydrates 80g 27%
Protein 5g 10%
Fat 13g 20%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g 29%
Cholesterol 57mg 19%
Sodium 229mg 10%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 59g 118%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.