Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
A perfectly Spring dessert - Hummingbird Cake is a Southern dessert that earned its name because it is as sweet as the nectar that attracts hummingbirds. This moist layer cake is sweetened with banana, pineapple and coconut and is studded with toasted pecans. Cream cheese frosting has the perfect balance of tartness to balance out the sweetness of this cake.


Serves 12

Ingredients

Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing the pans
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3)
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple
- 3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped and toasted
- 1 cup desiccated unsweetened coconut
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 14 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9 inch cake pans. Line the bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda salt, and cinnamon.
Place the oil, vanilla extract and sugar in a medium size bowl fitted for an electric mixer. Mix together on medium/high speed until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Beat on medium/high speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the banana, pineapple and coconut. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Finally, fold in the toasted pecans.
Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans. Bake the cakes until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the cake pans to wire racks and let cool for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife alongside the edges of the cake and the pan; then invert the cake onto a flat plate. Remove the parchment paper. Invert the cake back onto a wire rack to cool completely. The cakes can be made 1 day ahead of time, and individually wrapped in plastic before frosting.
To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese, butter, powder sugar and vanilla on medium/high speed until smooth and creamy. Store the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use. Take out of the fridge 5 minutes before frosting.
To assemble the cake, place one layer of the cake on a large cake plate or pedestal. Put about 2/3 cup frosting on the cake and use an off set spatula to evenly distribute the frosting. Place the second cake layer on top and use the remaining frosting on the top and sides of the cake. This cake will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.