The Healthy My Ass Cookbook

Celebrity Hummingbird Cake

Like the Dr. Bird cake, only with icing.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Arrange two oven racks toward the top two thirds of the oven with enough room on the lower rack for the cake to rise with airflow above it.  Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.  Coarsely chop and measure the Bananas and Pecans and set aside separately.

Combine and toast 1 cup of the chopped Pecans and 1 cup of the flaked Coconut, if used, in a single layer on a large jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides, in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the coconut is golden brown.  Remove and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the Eggs, Vegetable Oil and Vanilla.  Set aside.

Combine the Flour, Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda and Cinnamon in a large bowl.  Fold in the whisked eggs and oil until moistened.  Stir in the Crushed Pineapple with juice, chopped Bananas and the remaining 1 cup of the coarsely chopped untoasted Pecans.  Evenly spoon the batter into the three cake pans, about 2&1/3 to 2&1/2 cups per pan.

Place one pan in the very center of the lower oven rack and the other two pans in opposite corners of the upper rack, but without touching each other or the sides, back or door of the oven.  Bake for 13 minutes, then swap the two pans on the upper rack so that the sides that were closest to each other are now the farthest from each other and the one that was in the back is now in front.  Continue baking 8 to 13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.  Remove them from the oven.  Cool the layers in their pans for 10 minutes then remove them from the pans to wire racks to completely cool upside down.

Prepare a double batch of the Cream Cheese Icing.  Fold in the remaining 1 cup of untoasted Coconut, if used.

Generously spread the icing between the completely cooled cake layers, then on the top and sides.  Evenly and gently press the combined toasted coconut and pecans into the icing on the sides and top.

Notes:

You can simplify this by folding the toasted coconut and pecans into the icing, in which case you might want to toast both cups of coconut.  Or you could ice the tops of the bottom and middle layers, then fold in the toasted coconut and pecans before icing the top and sides of the cake.

While I haven't read it anywhere, I assume with the butter and cream cheese in the icing, any leftovers should probably be refrigerated.

I have no idea why it is called Celebrity Hummingbird Cake, so don't even ask.

See Also:

Dr. Bird Cake - A heavy fruity cake, like fruit cake except much more palatable.