Hummingbird Cake
3 hr 22 min · 1 hr 19 min active · makes ~2.45 kg · Medium · American
Hummingbird Cake
A three-layer celebration cake built on mashed banana, crushed pineapple, and chopped pecans, spiced with cinnamon and allspice. The crumb is dense and moist, the frosting a generous cream cheese buttercream lightened by icing sugar and finished with a scatter of pecans on top. Yielding twelve portions, it makes a reliable centrepiece for a gathering.
TOTAL TIME
3 hr 22 min
ACTIVE TIME
1 hr 19 min
QUANTITY
~2.45 kg
DIFFICULTY
Medium
CUISINE
American
Who’s eating
A
Ingredients0/17
Tools0/14
Ingredients0/17 gathered · 12 servings
2tbsp
3piece
225g
300g
300g
1tsp
1tsp
0.5tsp
0.5tsp
3piece
240ml
3tsp
150g
3piece
softened115g
cold500g
400g
| # | Product | Quantity | Notes | State | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2tbsp | — | — | ||
| 2 | 3piece | — | — | ||
| 3 | 225g | — | — | ||
| 4 | 300g | — | — | ||
| 5 | 300g | — | — | ||
| 6 | 1tsp | — | — | ||
| 7 | 1tsp | — | — | ||
| 8 | 0.5tsp | — | — | ||
| 9 | 0.5tsp | — | — | ||
| 10 | 3piece | — | — | ||
| 11 | 240ml | — | — | ||
| 12 | 3tsp | — | — | ||
| 13 | 150g | — | — | ||
| 14 | 3piece | — | — | ||
| 15 | 115g | softened | — | ||
| 16 | 500g | cold | — | ||
| 17 | 400g | — | — |
Tools16 items
Hygiene
Wash your hands after the raw egg and eggs.
Procedure62 steps
Cake Layers2 hr 13 min
1 of 62
Preheat
180°C
⏱ 10 min
2 of 62
Grease the vegetable oil
three tins
Vegetable oil · 2 tbsp
⏱ 1 min
ResultGreased cake tins3 of 62
Line the 3 baking papers
Baking paper · 3 piece
⏱ 1 min
ResultLined and greased cake tins4 of 62
Drain the tinned crushed pineapple
Tinned crushed pineapple · 225 g
⏱ 2 min
ResultDrained pineappleused in step 255 of 62
Sift the plain flour in the large mixing bowl
Plain flour · 300 g
⏱ 1 min
ResultSifted flour6 of 62
Add caster sugar
Caster sugar · 300 g
⏱ 30s
ResultSifted flour and caster sugar7 of 62
Add the bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to the flour bowl
Bicarbonate of soda · 1 tspGround cinnamon · 1 tspGround allspice · 0.5 tsp
⏱ 45s
ResultSifted flour and caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda8 of 62
Add salt
Salt · 0.5 tsp
⏱ 15s
ResultSifted flour mixture and ground allspice and salt9 of 62
Whisk the sifted flour mixture and ground allspice and salt
Look for
until evenly combined
⏱ 1 min
ResultDry cake mixtureused in step 2910 of 62
Whisk the 3 eggs in the medium mixing bowl
lightly beaten
Egg · 3 piece
⏱ 1 min
ResultBeaten eggs11 of 62
Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw egg
⏱ 30s
12 of 62
Add the sunflower oil to the mixing bowl
Sunflower oil · 240 ml
⏱ 30s
ResultBeaten eggs and sunflower oil13 of 62
Stir the beaten eggs and sunflower oil
Look for
until combined
⏱ 30s
ResultStirred egg14 of 62
Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw eggs
⏱ 30s
15 of 62
Add the vanilla extract to the mixing bowl
Vanilla extract · 3 tsp
⏱ 15s
ResultVanilla extractused in step 4916 of 62
Stir the wet cake mixture
Look for
until combined
⏱ 30s
ResultWet cake mixture18 of 62
Rinse the 3 ripe bananas
under cold running water
Ripe banana · 3 piece
⏱ 30s
ResultRinsed ripe banana20 of 62
Mash the peeled bananas
Look for
until smooth
⏱ 2 min
ResultMashed bananas21 of 62
Add the mashed bananas to the mixing bowl
⏱ 30s
ResultStirred egg and mashed ripe banana22 of 62
Stir the egg and mashed ripe banana
Look for
until combined
⏱ 30s
ResultBanana and egg mixture23 of 62
Add the drained pineapple to the mixing bowl
⏱ 30s
ResultEgg and ripe banana mixture24 of 62
Stir the egg and ripe banana mixture
Look for
until evenly mixed
⏱ 1 min
ResultWet fruit mixtureused in step 2825 of 62
Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw egg
⏱ 30s
26 of 62
Pour the wet fruit mixture from the medium mixing bowl into the large mixing bowl
⏱ 30s
ResultTropical fruit mixture27 of 62
Fold the dry cake mixture and tropical fruit mixture
Look for
until just combined
⏱ 2 min
ResultPlain flour and egg mixture28 of 62
Fold the chopped pecans and plain flour and egg mixture
Look for
until evenly distributed — add 100 g chopped pecans
⏱ 1 min
ResultCake batterused in step 3229 of 62
Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw egg
⏱ 30s
30 of 62
Transfer the cake batter from the large mixing bowl into the 20 cm round cake tin
divide equally between three prepared tins
⏱ 2 min
ResultBatter-filled tins31 of 62
Bake the batter-filled tins
Look for
until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean
180°C
⏱ 28 min
ResultBaked cake layers32 of 62
Rest the baked cake layers
in the tins
⏱ 10 min
ResultCooled cake layers33 of 62
Transfer the cooled cake layers from the 20 cm round cake tin onto the wire rack
⏱ 1 min
ResultCooled cake layers34 of 62
Rest the cooled cake layers
on the wire rack
⏱ 1 hr
ResultCompletely cooled cake layersused in step 52Cream Cheese Frosting15 steps · 28 min
Assembly11 steps · 15 min
Total Time3 hr 22 min
| # | Product | Tool | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cake Layers2 hr 13 min | |||
| 1 | — | 180°C | Preheat⏱ 10 min |
| 2 | 2 tbsp | Grease the vegetable oil → three tins⏱ 1 minResultGreased cake tins | |
| 3 | 3 piece | Line the 3 baking papers⏱ 1 minResultLined and greased cake tins | |
| 4 | 225 g | Drain the tinned crushed pineapple⏱ 2 minResultDrained pineappleused in step 25 | |
| 5 | 300 g | Sift the plain flour in the large mixing bowl⏱ 1 minResultSifted flour | |
| 6 | 300 g | Add caster sugar⏱ 30sResultSifted flour and caster sugar | |
| 7 | 1 tsp | Add the bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to the flour bowl⏱ 45sResultSifted flour and caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda | |
| 1 tsp | |||
| 0.5 tsp | |||
| 8 | 0.5 tsp | Add salt⏱ 15sResultSifted flour mixture and ground allspice and salt | |
| 9 | — | Whisk the sifted flour mixture and ground allspice and saltLook foruntil evenly combined⏱ 1 minResultDry cake mixtureused in step 29 | |
| 10 | 3 piece | Whisk the 3 eggs in the medium mixing bowl → lightly beaten⏱ 1 minResultBeaten eggs | |
| 11 | — | — | Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw egg⏱ 30s |
| 12 | 240 ml | Add the sunflower oil to the mixing bowl⏱ 30sResultBeaten eggs and sunflower oil | |
| 13 | — | Stir the beaten eggs and sunflower oilLook foruntil combined⏱ 30sResultStirred egg | |
| 14 | — | — | Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw eggs⏱ 30s |
| 15 | 3 tsp | Add the vanilla extract to the mixing bowl⏱ 15sResultVanilla extractused in step 49 | |
| 16 | — | Stir the wet cake mixtureLook foruntil combined⏱ 30sResultWet cake mixture | |
| 17 | 150 g | Chop the pecans → roughly chopped⏱ 1 minResultChopped pecansused in step 30 | |
| 18 | 3 piece | — | Rinse the 3 ripe bananas → under cold running water⏱ 30sResultRinsed ripe banana |
| 19 | Rinsed ripe bananastep 20 | Peel the rinsed ripe banana⏱ 1 minResultPeeled bananas | |
| 20 | Peeled bananasstep 21 | Mash the peeled bananasLook foruntil smooth⏱ 2 minResultMashed bananas | |
| 21 | Mashed bananasstep 22 | Add the mashed bananas to the mixing bowl⏱ 30sResultStirred egg and mashed ripe banana | |
| 22 | — | Stir the egg and mashed ripe bananaLook foruntil combined⏱ 30sResultBanana and egg mixture | |
| 23 | Drained pineapplestep 4 | Add the drained pineapple to the mixing bowl⏱ 30sResultEgg and ripe banana mixture | |
| 24 | — | Stir the egg and ripe banana mixtureLook foruntil evenly mixed⏱ 1 minResultWet fruit mixtureused in step 28 | |
| 25 | — | — | Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw egg⏱ 30s |
| 26 | Wet fruit mixturestep 26 | Pour the wet fruit mixture from the medium mixing bowl into the large mixing bowl⏱ 30sResultTropical fruit mixture | |
| 27 | Dry cake mixturestep 11 | Fold the dry cake mixture and tropical fruit mixtureLook foruntil just combined⏱ 2 minResultPlain flour and egg mixture | |
| Tropical fruit mixturestep 28 | |||
| 28 | Chopped pecans100 gstep 19 | Fold the chopped pecans and plain flour and egg mixtureLook foruntil evenly distributed — add 100 g chopped pecans⏱ 1 minResultCake batterused in step 32 | |
| 29 | — | — | Wash your hands with soap — you've been handling raw egg⏱ 30s |
| 30 | Cake batterstep 30 | Transfer the cake batter from the large mixing bowl into the 20 cm round cake tin → divide equally between three prepared tins⏱ 2 minResultBatter-filled tins | |
| 31 | — | 180°C | Bake the batter-filled tinsLook foruntil a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean⏱ 28 minResultBaked cake layers |
| 32 | — | Rest the baked cake layers → in the tins⏱ 10 minResultCooled cake layers | |
| 33 | Cooled cake layersstep 34 | Transfer the cooled cake layers from the 20 cm round cake tin onto the wire rack⏱ 1 minResultCooled cake layers | |
| 34 | — | Rest the cooled cake layers → on the wire rack⏱ 1 hrResultCompletely cooled cake layersused in step 52 | |
| Cream Cheese Frosting15 steps · 28 min | |||
| Assembly11 steps · 15 min | |||
| Total Time | 3 hr 22 min | ||
Nutritionper serving
Estimated · pre-cooking · 88% ingredients covered
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| 828kcal | |
| 8g | |
| 53g | |
| 18g | |
| 84g | |
| 62g | |
| 2g | |
| 263mg |
Ingredients0/17
Tools0/14
american · Recipe
Hummingbird Cake
A three-layer celebration cake built on mashed banana, crushed pineapple, and chopped pecans, spiced with cinnamon and allspice. The crumb is dense and moist, the frosting a generous cream cheese buttercream lightened by icing sugar and finished with a scatter of pecans on top. Yielding twelve portions, it makes a reliable centrepiece for a gathering.
HygieneWash your hands after the raw egg and eggs.
Serves12
Total3 hr 22 min
LevelMedium
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil2 tbsp
- Baking paper3 piece
- Tinned crushed pineapple225 g
- Plain flour300 g
- Caster sugar300 g
- Bicarbonate of soda1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon1 tsp
- Ground allspice0.5 tsp
- Salt0.5 tsp
- Egg3 piece
- Sunflower oil240 ml
- Vanilla extract3 tsp
- Pecans150 g
- Ripe banana3 piece
- Unsalted butter, softened115 g
- Full-fat cream cheese, cold500 g
- Icing sugar400 g
Tools
20 cm round cake tinSpoonSieveFlour bowl (large mixing bowl)Cream cheese bowl (large mixing bowl)Medium mixing bowlChef's knifeConventional ovenWire rackSpatulaWhiskCheese frosting mixer (hand mixer)Fluffy mixer (hand mixer)RefrigeratorBaking paperFork
Method
Cake Layers
1
Preheat
180°C10 minConventional oven
2
Grease the vegetable oil → three tins
1 min20 cm round cake tinVegetable oil · 2 tbsp
3
Line the 3 baking papers
1 minBaking paperBaking paper · 3 piece
4
Drain the tinned crushed pineapple
Result · Drained pineapple · used in step 25
2 minSieveTinned crushed pineapple · 225 g
5
Sift the plain flour in the large mixing bowl
1 minSievePlain flour · 300 g
6
Add caster sugar
30sFlour bowl (large mixing bowl)Caster sugar · 300 g
7
Add the bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to the flour bowl
45sFlour bowl (large mixing bowl)Bicarbonate of soda · 1 tspGround cinnamon · 1 tspGround allspice · 0.5 tsp
8
Add salt
15sFlour bowl (large mixing bowl)Salt · 0.5 tsp
9
Whisk the sifted flour mixture and ground allspice and saltLook foruntil evenly combined
Result · Dry cake mixture · used in step 29
1 minWhisk
10
Whisk the 3 eggs in the medium mixing bowl → lightly beaten
1 minForkEgg · 3 piece
11
Add the sunflower oil to the mixing bowl
30sMedium mixing bowlSunflower oil · 240 ml
12
Stir the beaten eggs and sunflower oilLook foruntil combined
30sSpoon
13
Add the vanilla extract to the mixing bowl
Result · Vanilla extract · used in step 49
15sMedium mixing bowlVanilla extract · 3 tsp
14
Stir the wet cake mixtureLook foruntil combined
30sSpoon
15
Chop the pecans → roughly chopped
Result · Chopped pecans · used in step 30
1 minChefs knifePecans · 150 g
16
Rinse the 3 ripe bananas → under cold running water
30sRipe banana · 3 piece
17
Peel the rinsed ripe banana
1 minChefs knifeRinsed ripe banana · step 20
18
Mash the peeled bananasLook foruntil smooth
2 minForkPeeled bananas · step 21
19
Add the mashed bananas to the mixing bowl
30sMedium mixing bowlMashed bananas · step 22
20
Stir the egg and mashed ripe bananaLook foruntil combined
30sSpoon
21
Add the drained pineapple to the mixing bowl
30sMedium mixing bowlDrained pineapple · step 4
22
Stir the egg and ripe banana mixtureLook foruntil evenly mixed
Result · Wet fruit mixture · used in step 28
1 minSpoon
23
Pour the wet fruit mixture from the medium mixing bowl into the large mixing bowl
30sSpoonWet fruit mixture · step 26
24
Fold the dry cake mixture and tropical fruit mixtureLook foruntil just combined
2 minSpatulaDry cake mixture · step 11Tropical fruit mixture · step 28
25
Fold the chopped pecans and plain flour and egg mixtureLook foruntil evenly distributed — add 100 g chopped pecans
Result · Cake batter · used in step 32
1 minSpatulaChopped pecans · step 19 · 100 g
26
Transfer the cake batter from the large mixing bowl into the 20 cm round cake tin → divide equally between three prepared tins
2 minSpatulaCake batter · step 30
27
Bake the batter-filled tinsLook foruntil a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean
180°C28 minConventional oven
28
Rest the baked cake layers → in the tins
10 min20 cm round cake tin
29
Transfer the cooled cake layers from the 20 cm round cake tin onto the wire rack
1 minSpatulaCooled cake layers · step 34
30
Rest the cooled cake layers → on the wire rack
Result · Completely cooled cake layers · used in step 52
1 hrWire rack
Cream Cheese Frosting
31
Beat unsalted butter in the second large mixing bowlLook foruntil fluffy
2 minFluffy mixer (hand mixer)Unsalted butter · 115 g
32
Add the full-fat cream cheese to the cream cheese bowl
30sCream cheese bowl (large mixing bowl)Full-fat cream cheese · 500 g
33
Beat the fluffy butter and full-fat cream cheeseLook foruntil smooth and well combined
2 minCheese frosting mixer (hand mixer)
34
Sift the icing sugar → one third of the icing sugar
Result · Sifted icing sugar · used in step 43
1 minSieveIcing sugar · 133.33 g
35
Add the sifted icing sugar to the cream cheese bowl
30sCream cheese bowl (large mixing bowl)Sifted icing sugar · step 40
36
Beat the butter and cream cheese mixture and sifted icing sugarLook foruntil fully incorporated
1 minCheese frosting mixer (hand mixer)
37
Sift the sifted icing sugar → another third of the icing sugar
Result · Sifted icing sugar · used in step 46
1 minSieveSifted icing sugar · step 40 · 133.33 g
38
Add the sifted icing sugar to the cream cheese bowl
30sCream cheese bowl (large mixing bowl)Sifted icing sugar · step 43
39
Beat the full-fat cream cheese and sifted icing sugarLook foruntil fully incorporated
1 minCheese frosting mixer (hand mixer)
40
Sift the sifted icing sugar
1 minSieveSifted icing sugar · step 43 · remaining
41
Add the sifted icing sugar to the cream cheese bowl
30sCream cheese bowl (large mixing bowl)Sifted icing sugar · step 46
42
Beat the full-fat cream cheese and sifted icing sugarLook foruntil fully incorporated
1 minCheese frosting mixer (hand mixer)
43
Add the reserved Vanilla extract to the cream cheese bowl
15sCream cheese bowl (large mixing bowl)Reserved Vanilla extract · step 17 · 1 tsp
44
Beat the full-fat cream cheese and stirred egg and vanilla extractLook foruntil smooth
1 minCheese frosting mixer (hand mixer)
45
Chill the cream cheese frosting
Result · Chilled frosting · used in step 53
15 minRefrigerator
Assembly
46
Transfer the completely cooled cake layers from the wire rack to the cake stand → place first cooled cake layer
1 minSpatulaCompletely cooled cake layers · step 36
47
Spread the completely cooled cake layers over the chilled frosting → generous layer of frosting on top of first layer
2 minSpatulaChilled frosting · step 51
48
Transfer the completely cooled cake layers from the wire rack to the cake stand → place second cake layer on top
1 minSpatulaCompletely cooled cake layers · step 36
49
Spread the completely cooled cake layers over the chilled frosting → generous layer of frosting on top of second layer
2 minSpatulaChilled frosting · step 51
50
Transfer the completely cooled cake layers from the wire rack to the cake stand → place third cake layer on top
1 minSpatulaCompletely cooled cake layers · step 36
51
Spread the completely cooled cake layers over the chilled frosting → remaining frosting over top and sides of assembled cake
4 minSpatulaChilled frosting · step 51
52
Scatter the chopped pecans over the frosted cake → remaining 50 g chopped pecans over the top
1 minCake standChopped pecans · step 19 · 50 g
53
Slice the hummingbird cake
Result · Hummingbird Cake
2 minChefs knife
Printed 3 September 2026