Hummingbird Cake
If sunshine came in a dessert, it must be the Hummingbird Cake also known as Doctor Bird Cake. This is a Jamaican-originated dessert popular worldwide for its tropical flavors and warm spice notes. The moist banana sponge is filled with pineapple chunks and crunchy pecans. The slight notes of cinnamon and cardamom bring warmth to the cake. The light coconut cream cheese frosting melts instantly in the mouth paving the way for more complex flavors layered between the cake. The surprise crunch of pecans takes you on a tiny adventure. This cake can transport you to your tropical paradise within seconds after indulging.
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Sponge
2 cups Flour
2 tsp baking Powder
½ tsp baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
½ tsp All Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 ½ tsp Cardamom
125g Sour Cream
2 Bananas
3 Eggs
¾ cup packed Brown sugar
½ cup Granulated sugar
½ cup Sunflower Oil
½ cup chopped Pecan
½ cup chopped Pineapple
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
225g Cream cheese
122g unsalted Butter
½ cup chilled Coconut Cream
1 ½ cups Icing Sugar
Pinch of Salt
Filling
½ cup chopped Pecan
Topping
Dried Pineapple Rings
Lime Leaves
Method
Step 1- Roast Pecans
Preheat the oven to 175℃ and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Spread the 1 cup pecan on the baking tray and place it in the oven. Roast for 15 minutes and shake the tray after 7 minutes. Once roasted, take the tray out and let the pecans cool to room temperature.
Step 2- Sponge
Preheat oven to 170℃, line two 8-inch cake tins with parchment paper, and grease the sides with butter. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, all spices, cinnamon and cardamom in a bowl and keep aside. Add the sunflower oil and sour cream to a mixing bowl. With a whisk, mix the two together till smooth. Then add in one egg at a time and whisk till smooth.
Step 3
Then add in brown sugar and whisk the batter till lump-free. Add in granulated sugar and whisk again till smooth. Separately mash the bananas into a paste, add to the batter, and mix in. Now add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and whisk till lump-free. Repeat till all the dry ingredients are added to the batter.
Step 4
Add ½ cup chopped pecans and pineapple with a rubber spatula and fold in the batter. Whisk the batter again for 30 seconds. Then divide the batter into the cake tins. Bang the cake tins against the counter and place them into the oven. Bake the cakes for 5-30 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 5
Then take the tins out of the oven and let the sponges rest in the tins for 20 minutes. Then transfer the sponges to a cooling wrap until they reach room temperature. Once cool, cling wrap the sponges and place them in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
Step 6- Coconut Creamcheese Frosting
Add cream cheese to a mixing bowl, and with a hand beater on medium, cream the cheese for 2-3 minutes or till fluffy and doubles in size. Then add butter and beat for another 2-3 minutes or until fully incorporated.
Step 7
Then add in coconut cream and beat till the cream is fully mixed. Then, add ¼ cup of powdered sugar at a time and beat until the sugar dissolves. Repeat the process till all the sugar is incorporated. Scrape down the bowl, add a pinch of salt, and beat for 30 seconds.
Step 8- Assembly
On a cake board/plate, place one of the two sponges. Level the top with a sharp knife to achieve a flat surface, and lightly dab the surface with milk. Then add a thin layer of the frosting and pipe a well around the edges. Sprinkle the rest of the pecans in the middle of the well.
Step 9
Place the second layer of the sponge on top upside down and dab the surface with milk. Then spread a thin layer of crumb coating^ on the entire cake and place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or till the frosting sets. Then take the cake out and evenly coat the cake with leftover frosting.
Step 10
Add dried pineapple rings and lime leaves to the cake in any desired way. Sprinkle some chopped pecans and place the cake back in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. Take the cake out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
Tips
Don’t crowd the pecans on the baking tray before roasting.
While roasting the pecans, shaking the tray ensures an even roast on the pecans.
Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature if not specified otherwise.
You can replace sunflower oil with vegetable oil.
You can replace sour cream with Greek yogurt. Just make sure there isn’t any extra water in the yogurt.
Mash the bananas into a fine paste to avoid banana chunks in the sponge.
If using canned pineapples, drain them before adding them to the batter.
Make sure to rest the sponges before placing them in the refrigerator.
Let the sponges rest in the refrigerator overnight for best results.
Cream the cheese and butter until they are fluffy to get a light airy frosting.
Add chilled coconut cream to avoid a droopy frosting.
You add 1/2 - 1 cup extra icing sugar according to your liking.
When frosting, make sure the sponges are cold.
^Crumb Coating is a thin layer of frosting on the cake that keeps the cake crumbs from coming loose into the final layer of frosting or cake decoration.
Let the fully frosted cake rest in the refrigerator overnight for the best results.
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