#289_Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Cake
I'd simply call this Banana Pineapple Cake

This cake is very similar to the Carrot Cake recipe #237, click here,
the main difference is that the Carrot Cake has of course, carrots
while the Hummingbird Cake....no, it does not have hummingbirds in it,
but has pineapple and bananas! Amazing!
Then why is this cake called Hummingbird cake
if it's not made with the bird?
To read about the legend of this cake go to this link below:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Legend-of-the-Hummingbird-Cake&id=1119079

A bite of this cake will make you want to sing/hum
like a Hummingbird (^..*)

I usually don't brag about the outcome
of my cooking or baking adventures,
but I can't help to tell my readers here that this one came out so good.
Yes, so good that my dear hubby was so delighted with it that
he was the one who bragged how good it was
to the family and guests at our Easter dinner.
Now, he has listed this dessert on his top 3 favorites.
His other favorites are No-Bake Cheese Cake and the Carrot Cake.

I adapted this recipe from from Oprah.com.
with a little bit of plus and minus in the ingredients.
In other words, I modified the recipe
and made it a little like a spice cake. It's really an easy recipe to make,
basically combining the wet and dry ingredients together.

Toasting the Nuts
Spread 2 cups of nuts (pecans or walnuts) on a baking sheet and
bake in a 350 degrees pre heated oven until they become fragrant,
about 8-10 minutes. Let cool, then roughly chop. Set aside.

Preparing the pans:

Grease bottom of two 9" round pans with shortening,
then line with parchment paper. Grease the papers.

Dry ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl,
then stir using a wire whisk (or sift them together)
to blend the ingredients together. Set aside.

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 can pineapple tidbits, drained,
then reserve 1/2 cup of the juice
2 large bananas, chopped

Procedure:
In a bowl, combine the bananas and pineapples. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together canola oil and the sugars,
then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Stir in the reserved pineapple juice and the vanilla extract.
Mix in the dry ingredients and 1 cup nuts.
Stir until everything is just blended together.
Blend in the pineapple/bananas.
Do not over mix.

Pour batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees oven for 35-40 minutes.
Let cool completely before frosting the cakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick butter, room temperature
1-8oz. cream cheese, room temp.
4 cups powdered sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2-3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
(add more milk if necessary to achieve a spreading consistency)

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and gradually add milk and vanilla. Continue to beat until creamy and spreadable.

To assemble the cake:

Place one cake, top side down, onto a serving platter. Spread with about 1/3 of the frosting. Place the other cake layer onto the frosted cake and spread the rest of the frosting over top and sides of the cake. Garnish with the rest of nuts. Chill for a few hours before slicing the cake.

ENJOY!!!

Note from MaMely:
I want to make sure there's not more than 1/2 cup of pineapple juice used in the mixture, so I thought draining the pineapple then saving 1/2 cup would be playing safe.