Y’all I’m bringing straight up fire with my homemade Hummingbird Cake recipe. It was such a hit that it was my number one seller when I shipped it through Williams Sonoma. My trick to keeping the layers super moist is adding overripe banana and oil along with crushed pineapple and juice. You won’t believe how tender the cake bakes up! Then I top the whole thing with rich pineapple cream cheese frosting.
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Hummingbird Cake Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: Make your cake even more tender by swapping in homemade cake flour.
- Granulated sugar: You can also swap with homemade brown sugar instead.
- Ground cinnamon: Replace with ground nutmeg or apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice blend.
- Baking soda: Check expiration so you get a good lift.
- Vegetable oil: Or any neutral oil works. Don’t use olive oil.
- Crushed pineapple: Make sure you use some of the juice too!
- Powdered Sugar: You can make your own homemade powdered sugar with granulated sugar and a blender boo! Get to it!
- Ripe mashed bananas: Just like in banana bread, use overripe bananas (ones with a brown-spotted exterior) for a deeper flavor in this cake.
- Chopped pecans (optional): If you’re allergic to nuts or just don’t like them, go with shredded coconut instead of chopped pecans. Toast the coconut for a few minutes until golden brown for an extra burst of flavor.
How To Make Hummingbird Cake
Mix and Bake the Cake
Step 1: In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt then whisk together until combined.
Step 2: Next, whisk in eggs, oil, vanilla, pineapple with juice, mashed bananas and pecans if using until completely combined. The final batter will be nice and thick.
Step 3: Evenly divide the batter into prepared cake pans.
Step 4: Bake for 24-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans and cooling.
Make the Frosting and Assemble
Step 5: Add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer and beat on high speed until it begins to thicken and fluff. Next, slow down the mixer and carefully add in the confectioner’s sugar.
Step 6: Add in pineapple juice and vanilla. Continue whipping until it is smooth, light and a fluffy frosting.
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Step 7: Level the cakes and slice each layer into two layers making a total of four layers. Add frosting to first layer.
Step 8: Continue layering and adding frosting in between those layers. Finally spread frosting all over the cake and add pecans to garnish if you want. Then serve it up!
Hummingbird Cake Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz crushed pineapple with juice
- 1 3/4 cup ripe mashed bananas about 4-5 bananas
- 1 cup chopped pecans if desired
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar up to 4 cups if you want it stiffer
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp pineapple juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans for garnish if desired
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 9” inch round cake pans by spraying with non stick baking spray then lining each pan with parchment paper then lastly spraying the top of the parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt then whisk together until combined.
- Next whisk in eggs, oil, vanilla, pineapple with juice, mashed bananas and pecans if using until completely combined. The final batter will be thick.
- Evenly divide the batter into prepared cake pans and bake for 24-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- After cooling for 10-15 minutes, remove cakes and allow them to cool to room temperature before frosting.
For the Frosting
- Add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer and beat on high speed until it begins to thicken and fluff.
- Next, slow down the mixer and carefully add in the confectioner's sugar. Once all sugar has incorporated, turn mixer back to high to continue whipping.
- Add in pineapple juice and vanilla and continue whipping until it is smooth, light and a fluffy frosting.
To Assemble
- Level the cakes, if necessary, and slice each cake into two layers making a total of four layers of cake (if desired or you can leave as two layers).
- Add frosting between layers then frost entire cake with remaining frosting. Garnish with additional pecans if desired. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
How To Store Hummingbird Cake
Add any leftovers in a cake carrier or covered. It should stay moist and tender at room temp for up to 3 days.How Long Will Hummingbird Cake Last In The Fridge?
This cake can stay fresh for up to 5 days. Bring layers back to room temp before you serve them up.Can I Freeze Hummingbird Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting?
Absolutely boos! This hummingbird cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place individual slices on a baking sheet to freeze for about an hour, then wrap slices tightly in plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil. When you wanna enjoy again, let slices thaw in the fridge overnight and bring it to room temp before serving.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Measure Properly: When using measuring cups, use the “spoon & level” method. Simply use a spoon to scoop the ingredients into the measuring cup. Do not pack down or tap the measuring cup, and use the back of a knife to level off the excess.
- Don’t Over-Mix, Don’t Under-Mix: Make sure you’re mixing any cake batter just until the ingredients are combined. Over-mixing will knock out the air and replace it with gluten. That means tough, dense Hummingbird Cake.
Recipe Help
For sure boos! You can bake it a day or two in advance, store it in a cake container at room temp, and it will still be fresh and delish.
Absolutely boos! If you’re not a fan of pecans or have nut allergies, you can easily omit them from the recipe.
If your frosting seems too thin, pop it in the fridge to let it stiffen more before frosting the cake. If it still seems too thin, add more powdered sugar to stiffen it up until it reaches the consistency you like.
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Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted?
Yes just omit salt
Thank you
I make this for my oldest daughter’s birthday every year. She loves it!
This cake was such a hit! My boyfriend’s brother doesn’t even like desserts and he said it was excellent. Everyone went back for a second sliver even though we were all stuffed. Being a Texan New Yorker it was so nice to get a taste of home with this southern classic. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Had to make a cake for my husbands company bbq. The guys requested a cake from me since they loved my carrot cake (grandbaby cakes recipe). I followed the recipe to the letter except I did use frozen bananas I had in the freezer. One of the men commented that my cakes are always so moist. What a compliment! My husband was very happy with the results. I personally didn’t taste this so can’t judge it, but I got a ton of thumbs up.
Thanks for adding that you used frozen bananas. I’m making this recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner party and I did not have access to overripe bananas, but then remembered I had just put some in the freezer this past weekend. Googling if I could use frozen bananas, came across your comment. What a relief. Really ripe bananas make the cake the most delish.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
There was a request for me to bring a Hummingbird Cake to an Easter get together. I am so glad that this is the recipe I decided to try! To me, it was no more difficult than making a carrot cake, and It was a huge hit! The person who had requested a hummingbird cake said this one was better than the one she had tried before.
I will mention that I used 8 inch cake pans instead of the 9 inch, the cake is smaller in diameter but taller when made into 4 layers, just a very impressive presentation! It definitely took the longer baking time since the layers were thicker.
This will now go to the top of my list of cakes for when I’m asked to bring something to an event. Thank you for this great recipe!
it was fantastic! next time will make a bit more icing to cover the 4 layers adequately.
Hi. Does it matter if you use canola oil instead of vegetable?
Either is totally fine.
I made this cake in culinary school and fell in love so later I wanted to try it on my own; this is the best recipe I have found on the internet by far (I think I even like it better than the one I used in school:)) Absolutely delicious I make it all the time, a must try if you haven’t! Thank you, Jocelyn!
What changes must I make to the recipe to change the Hummingbird Layer cake into a Hummingbird Bundt Cake?
The bake time would change to a much much longer time. I would use a 12 cup pan. I would start around 45 min and keep checking.
Made this today for my moms 80th bday and she loves hummingbirds…it was the perfect cake for her and turned out amazing!!!! Everyone was saying how good it was!!!