Hummingbird Cake

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A true Southern classic, this hummingbird cake may very well be the coziest cake ever and easily in my top five favorite cakes of all time! This cake is iconic for a few reasons: the texture is stick-to-your-fork moist, it’s perfectly spiced, and has incredible flavor between the ripe banana, crushed pineapple, and toasted pecans. I like to roast the bananas before adding them to the cake batter for next level flavor (it adds an unparalleled caramel note!) but even if you skip that step, this is the BEST use of your overripe bananas! Pair this hummingbird cake with silky cream cheese buttercream for a cake that will have everyone asking you for the recipe. 

What Does Hummingbird Cake Taste Like?

Hummingbird cake is often described as “carrot cake’s tropical cousin.” It’s essentially a spice cake with an extra-moist texture similar to carrot cake, but the flavor is sweeter and more tropical due to the banana and crushed pineapple, both of which contribute to the moisture of the cake. There are toasted pecans baked into every bite for added crunch. Once filled and frosted with tangy cream cheese buttercream, the flavors and textures blend together into what I would describe as the coziest spiced banana cake with rich tropical notes and it just melts in your mouth. It’s hard to stop eating this one! 

Why You’ll Love Hummingbird Cake

• It’s classic. Those who have tried hummingbird cake are nostalgic for it, and those who are trying it for the first time will instantly see why it’s so popular! It’s said to have originated in Jamaica in the 1960’s, was popularized by Southern Living magazine in the late 1970’s, and has become a Southern staple ever since. 
• Insanely moist. This is an oil-based cake recipe which already guarantees a moist cake, but adding brown sugar, ripe banana, and crushed pineapple (juice and all!) bumps the moisture level up perfectly. 
• Warm and inviting flavors. The warm spiced notes in this cake come from cinnamon and allspice, and they’re the perfect supporting flavors for the notes of caramelized banana, bright pineapple pieces, and crunchy toasted pecans. Adding the tang of cream cheese buttercream to the mix makes this cake the coziest ever. 
• SO easy to make. The batter for this cake comes together quickly and easily. You’ll mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then fold them together before folding in the pecans. No mixer necessary for the cake layers! 

Hummingbird Cake Key Ingredients

• All-purpose flour. Although I do love using cake flour for a soft texture in lots of my cake recipes, this one is best made with all-purpose flour. It has the perfect amount of protein to keep this cake structured with all the moist ingredients involved. 
• Baking powder + baking soda. I like to use both in this recipe to give this cake the perfect lift while keeping the cake layers relatively flat for stacking. 
• Spices. Cinnamon and allspice give this hummingbird cake the ideal spice notes without overpowering the fruit flavors, and salt balances everything perfectly. 
• Large eggs. Three large eggs at room temperature help bind all the ingredients together and contribute to the structure. 
• Vegetable oil. This is the main fat used for the base of this hummingbird cake, and since it’s an oil-based cake it nearly guarantees a moist texture even after refrigerating! I like to use plain vegetable oil but you could use any neutral oil you prefer for baking (avocado, canola, etc). 
• Brown sugar + granulated sugar. Brown sugar adds more moisture and rich flavor, but both sugars contribute to the sweetness of the cake and the ultra-soft crumb. I like to use more brown sugar than granulated sugar for this recipe. 
• Pure vanilla extract. A few teaspoons of vanilla add richness to the overall flavor.
• Overripe (or roasted!) bananas. It’s important that your bananas are spotty for this recipe, and you’ll need about 3 large ones. If you want to take the flavor of this cake to the next level or need to quickly ripen your bananas, I recommend roasting them before mashing them up! I have instructions for that in the next section. 
• Crushed pineapple. You’ll need one 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple in juice (not syrup) for this recipe, and you’ll add this with the juice and all. The pineapple bits add tropical notes and tons of extra moisture. 
• Toasted chopped pecans. These get added to the cake batter at the end of the recipe and can also be used to decorate the cake. You can buy these pre-toasted and chopped, or toast them yourself in the oven and finely chop them. If you’re toasting them yourself, bake them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 300ºF (149ºC) for 6-8 minutes, shaking the pan once at the halfway mark. 

How to Roast Bananas for Baking

The bananas used for this hummingbird cake need to be overripe, or dotted with brown spots. If you find that your bananas are not quite ripe enough to begin this recipe OR you simply want to take the flavor of this cake beyond, I recommend roasting the bananas first. I roasted my overripe bananas for this hummingbird cake which amplified the banana flavor by adding rich, caramelized notes! 

To roast bananas, first remove any stickers and rinse the bananas under water, then pat them dry. Place them on a baking sheet and use a fork to poke a few holes in the peels. Bake at 350ºF for 12-15 minutes, or until the peels are dark brown/black and shiny. 

After roasting, wait until the bananas are cooled enough to handle, then squish the banana out of the peel into a bowl. This will look like something out of an Alien movie – basically a wiggly banana in clear fluid. Mash it all together for adding to the cake recipe once it cools to room temperature. 

Tip: You can use this method of roasting bananas for any baking recipe that calls for mashed banana! It will elevate your banana cake, banana bread, banana muffins, etc. 

Tangy & Smooth Cream Cheese Frosting 

The traditional filling and frosting for this hummingbird cake is cream cheese buttercream, and I did not stray from the classic flavor combination. The tang of the cream cheese is the perfect addition to marry the complex flavors in this cake together. And while cream cheese frosting is notoriously soft and can be difficult to work with, my recipe yields the perfect consistency for filling, stacking and frosting this cake. Here are a few best practices to have the most success:

• Use full-fat brick style cream cheese. I use Philadelphia brand, but any brick-style cream cheese that’s not low fat will do. Other kinds of cream cheese (low fat or the spreadable kind in the tub) contain too much water content and will always result in a soupy frosting that’s too thin for filling and frosting a cake. If you don’t have access to brick-style cream cheese, make a double batch of my vanilla buttercream or brown butter frosting to pair with this cake instead.
• Make sure the butter and cream cheese aren’t too soft. Before you start mixing up the buttercream, it’s super important that the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature or slightly colder. If these ingredients are too soft, it will naturally make the final buttercream softer and less stable. Even if this happens, the next bullet point will fix things. 
• Refrigerate to thicken the consistency. If you make the cream cheese frosting and find that it’s not thick enough for your liking or your kitchen environment is super warm, pop the frosting in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to let the butter solidify a bit. Then, re-mix it on low speed with your stand mixer to make it smooth and uniform. The trip to the refrigerator will thicken the entire buttercream to a workable consistency.

How to Make Hummingbird Cake

This hummingbird cake comes together so easily by hand! Here’s how to make it:

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. 

Step 2: Combine the sugars and wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Once combined, whisk in the mashed banana and can of undrained, crushed pineapple.

Step 3: Fold together. Fold half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a silicone spatula, then fold the rest in. When it starts coming together, add the toasted pecans and fold until uniform. 

Step 4: Bake and cool. Divide the batter equally between three 8-inch cake pans and bake at 350ºF (177ºC) for 25-28 minutes. Then, cool to room temperature before frosting. 

Step 5: Make cream cheese frosting and decorate. After whipping up the cream cheese frosting, use it to fill, stack, and frost the cake layers. I ended up frosting a rustic texture on top with an angled spatula, then frosting the sides with a smooth buttercream finish. I kept the top edge raw and uneven. I finished the cake by pressing some of the toasted pecans around the bottom third of the cake and sprinkling some on the top half. 

However you decorate, this cake is guaranteed to be delicious! It’s such a classic recipe and the ideal cake for a gathering any time of year.

More Recipes You’ll Love

If you love hummingbird cake, chances are these other cake recipes from my blog will be right up your alley:

• Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Spice Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting 
• Banana Cake with Brown Butter Frosting 
• Apple Spice Cake with Cinnamon-Vanilla Buttercream
• Peach Crisp Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

I hope you love this hummingbird cake as much as I do! I can’t stop thinking about how delicious it is and thinking about when I can make it again. If you make it, let me know how it went in the comments below (don’t forget to rate the recipe!) and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you make with my recipes!