I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m pretty sure most people have never heard of Hummingbird Cake. In fact, I have no idea how I eve know about the cake! If you’ve never heard of it, Hummingbird cake is a moist banana cake filled with pineapple, pecans, and sometimes coconut then topped with a rich cream cheese frosting.
I’ve always associated Hummingbird Cake with the South and in my mind, it was a true Southern dessert. I even made up my own little story of its origin. I always picture Hummingbird Cake being originally created by a sweet, old grandma with a thick Southern drawl wearing a blue gingham apron who simply dumped some tropical fruits into her banana cake recipe. She then topped it with cream cheese frosting since her favorite Red Velvet Cake is finished with the same creamy frosting!
As much I love my made up version of the Hummingbird Cake’s origin, it not even close to the truth. If you want to know the truth, read on, if you want to stick with my great Southern story, skip the nest paragraph!
Here’s the true story — which I learned while reach searching the recipe! Hummingbird Cake was actually created in Jamaica — which makes sense when you think about it. The cake is loaded with tropical fruits and both bananas & pineapples are abundant in Jamaica. The cake also shares its name with a Jamaican-native hummingbird species. Some say it received its name because the cake is so sweet it would actually attract the hummingbirds which feed on sweet nectar.
I prefer my story but regardless of its origin, I love Hummingbird Cake because it’s super moist, flavorful, and has a wonderful texture from the mix of pineapple, coconut, pecans and luscious cream cheese frosting.
Hummingbird Cake typically calls for a cup of oil and for most recipes, 2 or more cups of sugar! I chose to lighten the recipe by halving the oil. Instead, I relied on the bananas to bring moisture to the cake.
When it came to the sugar in the cake itself, I chose to only use 1/3rd of the sugar in standard Hummingbird Cake recipes (2/3 cups added sugar in all). To bring some caramel notes, which pair nicely with both the bananas and pecans, I used a mix of granulated and light brown sugar while again relying heavily on the mix of tropical fruits to bring natural sweetness to the cake.
Wanting to make the frosting a bit more special than typical cream cheese frosting, I chose to create a Honey Cream Cheese Frosting. I love the flavor the honey adds to the overall cake and it’s also a bit in tribute to the Jamaican hummingbird that dines on nectar.
With my fat and sugar swaps, this Hummingbird Cake is nothing you need to feel too guilty about eating. It’s a fruit & nut packed cake that’s super moist from mashed bananas, pineapple & coconut while being perfectly sweet when paired with the Honey Cream Cheese frosting.
I highly recommend enjoying this cake on a sunny afternoon on your patio with a bit lemonade or ice tea. After all, that’s how my Southern baking grandma would have enjoyed it when she first created the recipe!
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 large bananas, mashed
- ½ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup crushed pineapple, drained
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (1 brick)
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (1/2 stick)
- 5 cups confectioner's sugar
- Preheat your oven to 350*.
- Line 2 cupcake tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon then set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in the mashed banana followed by both sugars.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and combine with a spatula or wooden spoon.
- Fold in the pineapple, coconut and pecans until fully combined.
- Evenly distribute the batter among the 24 cupcake liners.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, place the softened cream cheese and butter into an electric mixing bowl and cream together on high for 1-2 minute until fluffy.
- Add in the honey and mix on medium for up to 1 minute.
- Begin adding in the confectioner's sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing on high before each new addition.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost the cupcakes by placing the frosting into a piping bag or spreading on top of the cupcakes with a spatula.
- Refrigerator the frosted cupcakes until serving.
- Allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature (20 minutes) before serving.
