When Marc and I went to Disney World over the Holidays, we ate the most incredible meal at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’. I even wrote all about it here on the blog. It was the first time I ever had hummingbird cake and I fell instantly in love. I’ve also mentioned before that Marc does a lot of work on his own time with the elderly. He is an amazing human with a heart of gold. When he told one of them about the cake, they said how much they missed having it. So he came home one day and asked if I would make it for him. A LOT of my baking and cooking goes to the people he visits, so this was not an unusual or unwelcome request at all. I went right to the source and looked up Chef Art’s recipe for the job.
We kept half of the cake for ourselves and packed the other half for his elderly friend to enjoy. Oh my goodness, we were right back at Disney enjoying our meal at Homecomin’. His friend really enjoyed it too, which was the best feeling in the world. I love baking for people! I hope you all love this recipe too. xoxo
Hummingbird cake is such an amazing southern dessert staple. I tried it for the first time in Disney at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' and had to try his incredible recipe at home!
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups finely chopped banana from about 4 bananas
- 1 cup crushed pineapple drained
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans plus additional for topping
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 and get out two 9 inch round cake pans. Line the cake pans with parchment paper and spray them very liberally with non-flavored cooking spray. Then whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Stir the banana, pineapple, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract together in another bowl thoroughly, then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir the whole thing together really well until you have a thick, uniform batter.
- Divide the batter evenly among the two cake pans and bake them for 30-35 minutes. They should be golden and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out pretty cleanly. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. While the cake bakes and cools, make the frosting. Set up a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and combine the cream cheese and butter in its bowl. Beat them together thoroughly, then turn the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar and vanilla until you have a rich, smooth frosting.
- Now it's time to assemble the cake! Transfer one of the layers onto a cake plate or stand upside down and spread a thick layer of frosting on it. Then place the second layer on top right side up and frost the top and sides. Sprinkle more chopped pecans on top. Cover the cake plate or stand with a dome and store the cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve!
This looks so yummy! I think you did the right thing adding the extra pecans on top 🙂
Thank you so much!!
Oh this looks like the perfect cake to go with hot tea! What a scrumptious recipe that is sure to delight guests!
Oh it’s wonderful with tea! Thanks so much for the kind words :-).
I’m having an affair with pecans lately so I definitely love the final added touch 😀
Thank you so much!!
This cake looks so delicious. I love that your husband wanted to bring some for his elderly friend. So special.
Baking for the elderly people he spends time with is my favorite :-). They’re always so happy to get it. Thanks very much for the kind words!!
Your photos look absolutely scrumptious! I just want to take a bite of that hummingbird cake.
Thank you so much!!