Hummingbird Cake

Can you believe this is the first time I've ever made a Hummingbird Cake?  I'd heard of this Southern dessert before but never actually got around to trying it for myself.  Ironic if you think about it because it contains so many things that I love: bananas, pineapple and pecans.

I found a no-fuss recipe from Cook's Country and decided to turn it into a bundt cake rather than the traditional layer.  I adore anything pineapple and what I love about this recipe is that the pineapple flavor is really amplified by reducing the juice to a concentrate. 

To finish the cake I made a simple icing using powdered sugar, pineapple juice and a drop or two of yellow food color.  It definitely has a technicolor effect, but I actually kind of like that!

Hummingbird Cake

 

2 (8 oz) cans crushed pineapple in juice

3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 cups (14 oz) sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups mashed bananas (~4 large bananas)

1 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1-2 drops yellow food color

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.  Set aside.

Drain pineapple in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl, pressing to remove juice. Pour juice into small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 5 minutes; set aside.

 

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in bowl. Whisk sugar and eggs together in separate large bowl; whisk in oil. Stir in bananas, pecans, vanilla, drained pineapple, and reduced pineapple juice. Stir in flour mixture until just combined.

 

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake until dark golden brown on top and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.  Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.

 

For icing, combine powdered sugar, pineapple juice and food color with a whisk in a medium bowl.  Adjust amount of sugar or juice to get the consistency desired.

 

Pour icing over cooled cake and let dry.