Okay...so nobody else has mentioned this..but is there a chance that it was supposed to be baking soda and NOT baking powder? Because i followed the recipe exactly and the cake is not so much a cake as a really dense doughy bread...and after having perused all the other hummingbird recipes they all say soda and not powder. Haven't tasted it yet but just on texture alone, i'm a more than a little disappointed to say the least. I did notice that others said it was a dense cake but i didin't think that it was going to be anything like what i got. I've had hummingbird cake before and it was fabulous...this not so much
Thanks for sharing this delicious cake recipe, Dee. I've made this cake twice. Once as per recipe and the second time attempting to copy the one a small local deli serves.To bring this recipe more in line with that of the deli, I chopped half the bananas and mashed half and added 1/2t banana extract for a more enhanced banana flavor. I cut the oil to one cup and didn't drain the crushed pineapple; added 1/4t of cloves and an extra teaspoon of cinnamon, and toasted the pecans. I used your cream cheese frosting, but toasted extra pecans, chopped small and gently pushed them into the frosting all over the cake.The result was fabulous. I'm continually being asked for the recipe.
I'm addicted to this cake...even my siblings who only like chocolate cake liked this. I took reviewers' advice and mashed half the bananas, added extra cinnamon, and replaced some of the oil with pineapple juice. I made my own frosting (vanilla pudding mix, 1 1/2 cups milk, 8 oz cream cheese, 8 oz cool-whip) and filled the middle of the cake with frosting/crushed pineapple. Try this cake!
I made this cake as healthy as I could: Substituted all but 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil with 1 3/4 cups lite apple sauce. I substituted eggbeaters for eggs & splenda for sugar. The result was a very dense but absolutely DELICIOUS cake. Very very sweet so best with a cup of coffee or even coffee ice cream - to tame the sweetness. I made this as a layer cake (2 9 inch cakes). I layered smooshed banana & crushed pineapple as the in-between layer. Very very good to get that punch of flavor but be sure to thoroughly dry the crushed pineapple otherwise it gets kinda leaky. I cooked the cake at 325 in a confectioner's oven for 45 minutes. I watched it very very closely to ensure it did not burn. I topped with toasted coconut. My dad could not stop raving. Thank you.
I suggest you ad a layer of sliced banana (put a little lemon juice to keep it fresh)& smashed banana & pineapple in-between the layers. This is a great cake for Easter if you put coconut (green for grass) on the top & decorate the whole pecans as Easter eggs. Best cake ever!
I've made this twice - once substituting 1c applesauce for 1c of oil and once making it as stated in the recipe. Both times the cake had a wonderful flavor. I think it was much better before it was frosted. As others have said the frosting is very sweet and it overpowers the light fruity cake. I will have to experiment with frostings but the cake is really lovely. Oh and I will only make it with the applesauce next time b/c it doesn't seem to change the texture or flavor noticeably.
My son wanted to have an "I love you Party" for my Mom so I wanted to make something different that I thought she would like. I actually saw a version of this cake on Cupcake Wars so I came on AR and searched for a recipe. I followed the recipe with the exception of cutting the oil down to one cup and it turned out delicious. I used a cream cheese frosting from this site and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar and topped with a cherry. My mom absolutely loved them and I will definitely make them again.
Wonderful cake! I made this for the family at Christmas and everyone loved it! The cake is very dense and moist. I made no changes to the ingredients themselves but I did cook this in 4 eight inch round pans to make 4 thin layers (about 1 3/4 c batter per pan). I used the same cook time and it was perfect. I also made an extra half serving of the icing so it would be easy to decorate - but the cake stands up on its own extra icing is definitely not necessary! I did not mix the pecans in the icing but used them for decoration. Great recipe! I'll be making this regularly in the future.
This was awesome - make sure that your bananas are SUPER ripe though.
