Servings
Font
Back
0 from 3 votes

Hummingbird Cake

The hummingbird cake is a Southern cake of Jamaican origin prepared with banana, lemon, pineapple, coconut, vanilla, pecan and cream cheese.

Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
mins
Total Time
1 hr 40 mins
Servings: 12 people
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For the cake
  • ⅞ cup caster sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 2⅔ cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1½ cup heavy whipping cream (35% fat)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • Juice of a freshly squeezed lemon
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
  • 3 oz. pecan
  • 3 oz. ripe banana , cut into pieces (weighed after peeling)
  • 3 oz. fresh pineapple , cut into pieces (weighed after peeling)
  • butter (for the pans)
For the cream
  • 25 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
  • 1⅓ cup icing sugar
  • ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream (35% fat)
For the decoration
  • 4 tablespoons roasted coconut powder
  • pecans
Equipment
  • Stand mixer
  • 2 round cake pans (8 inch / 20 cm diameter)
  • pastry bag
  • Open star pastry tip (size #3 or# 4)
  • Disposable cardboard circle (at least 8-inch / 20 cm diameter)

Instructions

Cake
    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat convection oven to 350 F (170C).
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the whole eggs and sugar for 10 minutes or until the mixture doubles in volume.
  3. Meanwhile, chop the pecans.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg and sugar mixture with the help of a spatula. Then add the cinnamon, vanilla, fresh fruits, lemon juice and pecans.
  6. Beat the whipped cream (beat until soft but not too firm) and gently add it to the batter.
  7. Distribute the batter evenly in two buttered round cake pans lined with parchment paper.
  8. Smooth the top, preferably with an angled spatula.
  9. Bake for about 40 minutes.
Cream
  1. With the help of a whisk, mix the heavy cream by adding the cream cheese gradually
  2. Add the icing sugar.
  3. Cover with a plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator.
Assembly
  1. Using a sharp knife, smooth out the top of the 2 cakes to obtain a flat surface.
  2. Place a first biscuit on the cardboard base.
  3. Using a spatula, spread a thin layer of cream, and repeat the process with the other cake.
  4. Cover the top and the edges of the cake with the cream completely.
  5. Using an angled spatula, decorate the sides to create a wavy texture. Spread roasted coconut all around the cake and all over the top.
  6. Using a pastry bag with an open star pastry tip, pipe the cream all around the top of the cake.
  7. Place pecans all around.

Notes

  • The hummingbird cake can also be prepared as a 3-layer cake by preparing one cake (instead of 2) and cutting it into 3 equal size layers.