hummingbird cake
May 9, 2014 § 129 Comments
I love the look of this cake. Just the titling alone is enough to make you stop and pay attention. It is earthy and rustic, but charming at the same time. Hummingbird cake is a vintage blue ribbon cake. The first known publication of this recipe was in the February 1978 edition of Southern Living Magazine. It was elected the magazine’s favorite recipe at one point, and won the Favorite Cake Award at the 1978 Kentucky State Fair, as well as several blue ribbons at other county fairs. If you enjoy banana bread you will love this cake. Similar to carrot cake, however, if you don’t care for carrots in your cake, try this as an alternative. Three layers with pecans, mashed bananas, crushed pineapple and a cream cheese frosting. A county fair type of cake.
And talk about a sense of urgency…I’m taking my cake and I am on my way to Fiesta Friday #15. I took one look at Selma’s Asparagus and Feta Cigars and I couldn’t get this cake frosted fast enough.
Recipe adapted from Kinfolk.
I n g r e d i e n t s
For the cake:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3-1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 bananas, finely chopped
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamom
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, beaten and at room temperature
- 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup crushed pineapple
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2-1/4 cups pecans, chopped
For the frosting:
- Two 8 ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- confectioners’ sugar, approximately 3 cups
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Position two racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with the butter. Dust the pans with 1/4 cup flour and knock out any excess; set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the remaining 3 cups flour, the sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the eggs and oil and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the pineapple, vanilla, and half of the pecans.
Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. Set two pans on the top rack and one on the bottom. Bake, rotating and alternating the cakes halfway through the baking time, for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to racks and cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert them directly onto the racks and cool completely, about 1 hour.
While the cake cools prepare the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Decrease the speed to low and add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. I usually do a taste test to see how much sugar is needed to my desired sweetness. It is usually less than the recipe calls for. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
To assemble, spread the frosting between the layers, scattering some of the remaining pecans in between. Continue spreading the frosting on the top and sides of the cake and sprinkle the remaining pecans on top.
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And speaking of vintage, this little guy has been watching over me in the kitchen since Christmas. One day I mentioned to my teenage son how I wanted a Pillsbury Doughboy when I was a little girl, but my wish never came true. He searched and found one on Etsy and this was his gift to me. It’s vintage…1971. A vintage cake and a vintage doughboy. His real name is Poppin’ Fresh.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 
Aww, your son is so sweet. :)
This cake, btw, is totally eye-catching! I would definitely stop walking when I see cake as beautiful as this somewhere else. But for now I would just stop and stare at this beauty.
Thank you for sharing this to us at FF15. Enjoy the party! :)
Thank you Jhuls! Sounds like it’s going to be a good one. Thank you for hosting this week! :)
It’s my pleasure. I am glad to be one of your co-hosts today! :)
What a great classic recipe! My recipe is very similar and it’s one of my all time favorites. It’s wonderful with a chocolate glaze too :)
Isn’t it a fabulous cake? I couldn’t stop eating it, actually had it for lunch and nothing else the next day. I imagine chocolate glaze would be really nice with the banana and pecans. Yum.
It is fabulous and I must admit I have had it for lunch before too :)
Love hummingbird cake and LOVE your doughboy, what a great gift. I have always wanted one also will have to look on etsy.
Hope you find a doughboy! I love him, he sits up on my spice shelf and the day I made the cake I brought him down (really to humor my son) and had him watch me bake. :) I remember having hummingbird cake years ago and I it occurred to me the other day, although similar, I do prefer it over carrot cake. You see, I’m a cream cheese frosting junkie! And sometimes I make a carrot cake just so I can eat the frosting…while I’m actually frosting the cake. Weird, I know.
Not weird at all, I will purposely make more frosting than I need so I can eat it by the spoonful. Yup, I am a cream cheese frosting junkie too!
Hahahaha. That’s awesome. Can you imagine the recipe I was following called for 2 lbs. of confectioner’s sugar in the frosting?! I only used a 1/3 of that.
I always use less using the dump and taste method can’t stand when it’s too sweet
You were right, the name sucked me in. When I looked over the recipe, i realized, I had heard of it before. You have inspired me to make it.
I know…I just can’t imagine why it was named hummingbird cake. But, we loved it. It may just be a birthday cake choice for some of us now.
What a lovely cake, love the name, there must be more of a story behind this. What a thoughtful gift your son gave you!
I’m not sure, I looked around a little on-line and only found the Southern Living story about it. Fun cake though! Delicious. Have a good weekend Cheri…
I couldn’t help but “hear” your doughboy’s giggle when I scrolled by his photo…adorable! Such a sweet son you have!
I have several Southern Living cookbooks, and I think the Hummingbird Cake recipe is in every one of them. I’ve bookmarked the recipe several times and yet never have gotten around to baking one. After hearing your description and gazing upon your beautiful photos, I think it’s time!
hahaha. It’s funny because his belly has a pink stain on it from all the poking throughout the years. I really do love a good carrot cake and banana bread. This is a two in one! It’s fantastic. And don’t you just love Southern Living magazine?
Gosh, yes…love the magazine, the cookbooks and all of the Southern Living products (before that part of the company folded). I loved their pottery, especially the Gail Pittman pieces.
Yes! Some of her pieces are incredible! Priceless.
One of my favorite magazines, if not the. Couldn’t even bear to throw out old copies. I reference Southern Living a lot in my recipes. The cake, btw, is gorgeous! And the doughboy so adorable. I want both. Cake and doughboy, then my life is complete. :-)
How sweet of your son to get you a Pillsbury Doughboy! I have always loved the cute little guy too….adorable!
The cake looks and sounds so good!
I know! I was so surprised when I opened the doughboy, he is adorable. Brilliant marketing!
Your dough boy is adorable! And that cake looks divine… seriously my kind of cake! :D xx
Thank you. Nice to hear from you today. :)
Our family is from the south, Atlanta and Texas, and we know a good hummingbird cake when we see one. This is it! :-)
So you have had hummingbird cake! Isn’t it delicious. I really do enjoy it more than carrot cake. It’s the bananas. I love cooked banana in baked goods. It almost should be called monkey cake. But then, there is a monkey bread, right? Thank you for stopping by today Shanna.
Yes, I have made it many times for friends’ birthdays in Atlanta. It’s very popular there. I loved this post!
[…] Seana […]
Oh wow, loving the cake but loving the Pillsbury Doughboy even more! I haven’t seen one of these for years :-)
Oh, I know! I love the doughboy too! I was telling my son about the doughboy and the kool aid pitcher (remember that?) I wanted them both so bad when I was a kid!
This cake looks fantastic, tinywhitecottage. :)
Thank you… :)
Beautiful
This looks absolutely delicious. I love the history. Just late for the derby! Pecans, pineapples and cream cheese…yum. It’s like a carrot cake or banana bread on crack. I will certainly try this. Great pics. Cute doughboy!
I thought about missing the derby…my post timing was off. I think I finally learned a triple layer cake is just too much for a family of three. I will make it again, but next time it will be for a crowd.
I have heard of the Hummingbird Cake but have never made it. After seeing your pictures, it looks like something I need to make VERY soon. I love banana bread and anything with pineapple — plus cream cheese frosting is my favorite. Sounds like the perfect cake for me! =)
It is a perfect cake for me too! All the flavors I like and I especially like that it has fruit in it. I really enjoy fruit in baked goods and always love cream cheese frosting. Hope you get a chance to make it, it’s wonderful.
Awwww cottage girl, you have a darling son there :). So sweet! And what a great looking cake!
Yes, he’s a dear. I decided I would start making more baked goods for him after he gave me the doughboy. He has an enormous sweet tooth, I don’t have a sweet tooth at all, but I get so much satisfaction out of baking for him,
love it all! I worked in Pillsbury’s test kitchen back in the day and had my share of dough boy paraphernalia. The best ones were the old-school “dolls” like you have–future versions were more cheap and plasticy.
Hummingbird Cake has always intrigued me, but I’ve never dared as I’m not much on pineapple. Though yours looks amazing and I’m loving your rustic garnish. That is my kind of decorating :-) Nom nom nom.
Interesting you worked in Pillsbury’s test kitchen! Did you keep any of the stuff? There are a few things I’m not keen on, like raisins. Don’t like them at all in baked goods and normally avoid a recipe if it calls for them. So, I know what you mean. :)
Positively beautiful!I I had never heard of hummingbird cake before, but it sounds delicious!
Thank you, it really is a delicious cake. I really enjoyed having a cake with banana’s baked into it. And the pecans were wonderful too.
I love the story about that doughboy – such a neat story. And this cake looks beautiful and delicious!
Hi Laura, Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. I just found two of your comments in my spam folder, no idea why! I appreciate your comments and I’ll have to check and see what the problem is. Isn’t that doughboy adorable! :)
Oh my goodness! Your son is so sweet to get you the doughboy and that cake looks fabulous. I’m already trying to cut the recipe in my head so I can make a much smaller version. We couldn’t possibly eat it all in its original size! I’m finding I have to throw more dinner parties if I want to try out new dessert or sweets recipes. It’s safer that way for my waistline. This looks every bit a blue ribbon cake!
I can just see this cake sitting with a blue ribbon attached to the plate. I wouldn’t know where to begin in trying to cut down a cake recipe to make it smaller. Even as delectable as this cake is we had a difficult time finishing it with only three of us. For sure it’s the kind of cake to make for a crowd. Tell me about “waistline”. It’s not the cakes I have to worry about. It’s all the delicious savory foods! :)
Seana!! It’s taken me ages to get through this crowd and say hello! And I mean HELLO you utterly gorgeous cake…people would pay good money for a slice of that in a coffee shop. Guess I am just going to have to make one soon so that I can try it. I wonder if that is where The Hummingbird Bakery got their name from… And I have got to say that your son sounds like a diamond – how thoughtful and resourceful of him to track down a vintage PDB. Thanks so much for joining in FF15. Now, I’ll just take that cake from you and put it somewhere safe…
Hi Selma, You left me such a delightful message! I was grinning from ear to ear when I read it. FF15 was a success! Both you and Jhuls were wonderful! I have your lovely asparagus cigars on my list for this week. Thank you for hosting and for your very kind comment.
I will have to give this recipe to my daughter to cook. She’s the “baker” in the family. Gosh it sounds like my kind of cake! And the doughboy was such a thoughtful gift to you.
Hi there! Hope your daughter makes this cake for you. You’ll be delighted. I really loved the pecans. I don’t really eat pecans too often and they were wonderful with the sweet cream cheese frosting. I did see another variation of this cake where the pecans were crusted down a little more and actually mixed into the frosting before it went on the cake. I think that would be really nice, I was just going for the rustic look and kept them on top. :)
I love the bit of history you shared about this cake. Lovely recipe! Thanks!
Thank you. I have really been enjoying your blog. Thanks to Lisa for sharing “you” with us! :)
My pleasure! Please let me know if there’s something specific you’d like to read about. Looking forward to more of your posts!
The name hummingbird cake is so happy, isn’t it? I love how moist and evenly layered yours looks. And yes, definitely, the Yeast Beast is more of a puppy that just needs to be told what to do! :-D
Can’t even imagine turning something edible out with that beast. I bought yeast the other day and I’m going to experiment a little. I may just have to sit on the sidelines and cheer! I’ll grab some pom poms…
Such a yummy cake with banana, pecans and pineapple! Awesome arrangement and frosting too! thanks for the bit of history about the cake.
Thank you. :) I really liked the rustic look of the cake and the bits of pecans were perfect. I thought about crushing the pecans a little smaller for a subtle effect. I decided to go bold and keep them a bit haphazard. Really was delicious!
OK, I will have a very large piece please!! This is my kind of cake! :D
:) Mine too… Love cooked fruit in desserts and the bananas were fabulous in this cake. Thank you chefjulianna!
We make hummingbird cake in Australia too, the recipe is almost exactly the same. The Golden Circle cannery used the recipe to promote their canned crushed pineapple. It was a coffee shop favourite for many years here. It’s been a long time since i’ve thought about this cake, thanks for the memory jogger
I love how a cannery used a cake recipe to promote their product! We were at our enormous Asian Supermarket yesterday and I noticed a beautifully packaged organic soba noodle from Australia. Interesting! I thought of you….
Aw thanks, the Japanese set up a noodle manufacturing about 100km away from us to take advantage of our fantastic clean water. Try them out, they’re great quality
I’ve never made hummingbird cake before Seana, but after seeing yours just now, I’m absolutely craving a slice and feel the need to bake one very soon! It’s stunning – there’s something so elegant about layered cakes. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
This is only the second time I have made a three layer cake and I couldn’t agree more, so elegant! And this cake is exactly how I like my cakes…rustic elegance. When I finished frosting it, before the pecans, I stood back and admired how tall and elegant it looked with it’s white creamy frosting. Then after adding the pecans it became rustic and elegant. Nice to eat cake with fruit, nuts and cheese (even if it is cream cheese!).
Seana, I love so much your Rustic Vintage food, it means always good company, laugh and having a good time :) I really want a large, generous piece of your cake, now. Enjoy your weekend!
Thank you so much for you sweet comment. And I can not think of a better scenario than you described, good company, laugh and having a good time! :)
Must try your recipe out some time. I have always loved pineapples in cake :)
I like a subtle pineapple in cake too. Maybe you’ll have a chance to try this one. It’s delectable! Thank you for stopping in and leaving a nice comment. :)
“A county fair type of cake.” I love that. I’ve always wanted to make hummingbird cake! There’s something about the idea of crushed pineapples in batter that you just can’t deny. Yours is looking grand :)
Hi Irina, you’re here! I love the idea of “a county fair type of cake’ too. I remember being a little girl in a small California town and going to our county fair. My favorite exhibits were the baking and the animals. I would spend hours walking around looking at all the rabbits, goats, pigs and chickens. And I always wondered if I could sneak just a little slice of pie or something from the baking exhibit. Great memories! Thank you for stopping by for a visit. :)
Thank you for sharing this recipe and explaining what a hummingbird cake is! I have been seeing this name on the internet… Pecans, banana and pineapple: a very interesting combo!
I took one look at this cake from a recipe book and just had to bake it. You are right, a very interesting combo and so lovely. Fruit, nuts and cheese all in a cake! It’s wonderful. Thank you for stopping by Catherine.
This cake looks RIDICULOUSLY GOOD, I found myself just STARING at it yesterday at FF… and then again today, hahaha! Thanks for sharing, great blog!!!!!
:) Lol. I know what you mean. I stare at food photographs too! Thank you for stopping by Stephanie, you have a wonderful blog! I really like your recipes, very simple and foods we love. I’ll check in and keep in touch.
This cake looks so, so delicious! I love the name- so cool! Definitely need to try this out soon! Looks fab!
Thank you! You’ll love the cake, so fresh and moist. Anytime I can add fruit to a baked good I’m in! Especially a cake…hope you put it on your list of things to bake!
Incredible x
Thank you!
I’ve seen carrot cake with pineapple before somewhere, but never with banana with pineapple! Wow, very interesting. I bet it taste soooooooo good! I love cheese cheese frosting, too! :)
Thought the same thing. I do like carrot cake, but I love banana bread so the idea of a cake, much like carrot cake, but using bananas was very convincing. It’s everything you imagine!
oh I meant cream cheese.
lol…I knew what you meant. :)
I had never heard of a Hummingbird Cake until I moved to South Carolina. I’ve still never baked or tasted one. I pinned your post, so hopefully some day I will have the chance to do both.
Hi there! I read this cake originated in the South, however, apparently this is a popular cake in Australia too! :) I can see why, it’s fabulous. Hope you do make one…it’s a must try. Thank you for stopping in and pinning the post.
Bananans? and pineapple? and pecans!! wow– who wouldn’t love this cake and the name –Hummingbird cake– makes it pretty irresistible! I’m making one soon. Thanks Seana!
P.S.– Hi Seana– update– I just popped this cake into the oven. It seems perfect for Mothers Day with my mother-in-law, born in Arkansas. Thanks for the recipe just at the right moment!!
Rhonda! Great. I hope you and your family enjoyed it as much as we did. I spent a few years in Arkansas as a little girl. My favorite memories are the foods my mom cooked. Lots of fried chicken, beans, cornbread and fried potatoes. My least favorite memories are those darn tornados! Let me know how your cake turned out! :)
Hey Seana– the Cake was a big hit and so pretty. The banana shined through and who wouldn’t love all those pecans? It was really delicious. thanks!
That was my grandfather’s favorite cake, and now I know how my grandmother undoubtedly began making it: Southern Living and State Fair winner recipes have always been popular around here.
Yes, and county fairs too! I spent a few years of my youth in a small California town and the county fair was a such fabulous event. I remember they even advertised it by using painted rocks on the side of a hill! Great memories, and it had nothing to do with the rides or carnies! It was all about the 4H competition and the baking competition. :)
Love the look and the name of this cake. Great job my friend!
Hi Danny! Great to see you again! Thank you for stopping by, hope you are well in Hong Kong. :)
looks really really lovely x
Thank you and thank you for stopping by too! :)
:-)
Great job, never had hummingbird cake before, definitely tempting to try!!!
Your hummingbird cake looks delicious and your son is really sweet. Love his gesture. Happy Mothers day :)
Thank you. :) I thought it was a very sweet gesture, especially for a teenage boy… I better keep baking for him, right!
How sweet is your son?? Oh Seana, what a wonderful mother you are to have raised such a thoughtful and conscientious son. I love your hummingbird cake, too. I am afraid I would wolf half of it down in one sitting. It looks soo good. :D
Hi Patty. I just found a few of your comments in my spam folder. Oh no! Thank you for your lovely comment and I think I did wolf down 1/2 of it in one sitting! :)
I was sent to your spam folder! How dare WP?? ;)
I know right! I was shocked!
I just checked my spam and found several comments from one of our Fiesta Friday blogging buddies there! Terrible!
I never look in there either. I just read this post and it sparked curiosity:
http://conorbofin.com/2014/05/13/id-rather-not-be-so-popular-it-couldnt-be-my-chicken-and-pancetta-pie-could-it/
Interesting perspective! We’re too popular then! Hah!
Wow.. yum, this cake looks delicious!
HI Leah, thank you. :)
I’ve heard so much about hummingbird cake but I’ve never had it…I think I’ve really been missing out on something delicious. Beautiful cake!
I had heard a little about hummingbird cake too Karen. I’m really glad I stumbled upon it again, it is such a lovely cake and I will be making it often…well, as often as I make a cake, which isn’t really that often. :)
Awww your son is a sweetheart! Lovely cake you have got there. I too think that it is high time that i try out the hummingbird cake. Heard a lot about it. :)
:) Hello Sadia, and thank you for your nice comment. I don’t make cakes very regularly, but this was a fine cake to enjoy. Really loved the bananas in it along with the pecans. Delicious.
Wow!! I am amazed by this gorgeous looking cake! Your son is lovely, the dough boy is very cute!!! :-)
Hi Serena. This really was a lovely cake, and I am not much of a cake person. I found myself going back and skimming little slices off for myself. :) And yes, the doughboy is so cute! My new little treasured item.
:-)