Hummingbird Cake

This homemade hummingbird cake recipe has a cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Do you have friends who are recipe sharers? I am blessed to have several in my life. My dear friend Mari brought me a recipe for Hummingbird Cake back from one of her vacations to Georgia. I was first intrigued by the name because it reminded me of a cake my Grandma made when I was a child. I decided I had to try it when I saw the cake contained pineapple and banana. I have made a few minor tweaks to the recipe because that’s how I roll, but it is close to the original recipe.

In the summer of 2001, my then 10-year-old daughter entered this hummingbird cake recipe at the county fair and received both first place and the judge’s award for her efforts. So I feel entirely justified when I say this is a seriously delicious cake!

Hummingbird cake is basically a spice cake with fruit in it. The fruit makes it slightly sweeter and adds a brighter flavor than spice cake. Since it is topped with my cinnamon cream cheese frosting it kind of reminds me of carrot cake. And perhaps because it reminds me of carrot cake, it has somehow evolved to be the cake I serve on Easter.

Hummingbird Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup mild oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, do not drain
• 2 cups chopped pecans, divided
• 2 cups diced bananas
• 1 cup pecan halves

Directions:

1. Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Add the eggs and oil, and stir by hand until the dry ingredients are moist.
4. Stir in the vanilla, pineapple (with juice), 1 cup of chopped pecans, and the diced bananas. Mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Spoon the batter into 3 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes.
6. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
7. Spread the cinnamon cream cheese frosting between the layers, on top, and on all sides.
8. Place the pecan halves around the top of the cake.
9. Take the remaining chopped nuts and chop them very finely. Then press the finely chopped pecans all the way around the side of the cake.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

If you want thick layers of icing on your hummingbird cake, you can double this frosting recipe. This cake is quite sweet, so I usually only put a thin layer of frosting on it.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 – 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Frosting Directions:

1. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl; beating until smooth.
2. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
3. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Printable Recipe for Hummingbird Cake

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5 from 1 vote

Hummingbird Cake Recipe

This hummingbird cake recipe is basically a spice cake with fruit in it. It has a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and is topped with pecans

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Hummingbird Cake Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Cooling time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 8

Author Alea

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ 3 large eggs beaten
• ▢ 1 cup mild oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 8 ounce can crushed pineapple do not drain
• ▢ 2 cups chopped pecans divided
• ▢ 2 cups diced bananas
• ▢ 1 cup pecan halves

Frosting Ingredients:

• ▢ 8 ounce cream cheese softened
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter softened
• ▢ 1 pound powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Directions:

• Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
• Add the eggs and oil, stir by hand until the dry ingredients are moist.
• Stir in the vanilla, pineapple (with juice), 1 cup of chopped pecans, and bananas. Mix until thoroughly combined.
• Spoon the batter into 3 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.
• Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
• Spread the cinnamon cream cheese frosting between the layers, on top, and on all sides.
• Place the pecan halves around the top of the cake.
• Take the remaining chopped nuts and chop them very finely. Then press the finely chopped pecans all the way around the side of the cake.

Frosting Directions:

• Combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl; beating until smooth.
• Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
• Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy

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This recipe was originally published on June 2, 2009. It was updated on March 21, 2022.