Hummingbird cake recipe

Our Hummingbird cake is a real showstopper. Big fluffy layers of fruit and nut-filled cake sandwich delicious layers of fresh mango and a cream cheese icing. Did you know Hummingbird cake is a tropical teatime favourite in the USA’s Deep South? You can prepare the Hummingbird cake ahead of time as the sponge stays very moist. This is a fantastic recipe to use up any bananas that are too soft to transport in lunchboxes, they will make the mashing easier too. If you are making it for an occasion you could assemble the cake at the final location as it is easier than transporting a whole three layered cake! Whatever you decide, be sure to cut yourself a big slice!

Ingredients

• 325g self-raising flour
• 350g golden caster sugar
• ½tsp baking powder
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 200ml sunflower oil
• 100g walnuts, chopped
• 2 large bananas, mashed
• 1 x 435g can crushed pineapples with juice
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, beaten

For the icing:

• 300g icing sugar
• 200g cream cheese
• 50g butter
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• juice of ½ lemon
• mango slices, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line 3 x 20cm cake tins (or, if you don’t have 3, you can make this recipe with 2 – just be sure to adjust the cooking time as they will take longer to cook).
2. For the cake, in a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, oil, walnuts, bananas, pineapple, vanilla and eggs. Stir well to combine, but don’t overmix. Divide the mixture between the pans, and bake for 30-35 mins.
3. Remove the cakes from the oven, turn out on to a wire rack after a few mins and leave to cool completely.
4. For the icing, mix together all the ingredients and whisk to form a smooth icing. Once the cake has cooled, spread the icing in between each layer and on top. Serve interleaved with sliced mango or other tropical fruit.