Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Easy Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Icing


We recently celebrated Hubby's birthday.  I decided to try out a hummingbird cake since I'd never made one and what I realized is that there's myriad ways to make it and a host of similar cakes that go by names such as Ambrosia cake, Mandarin Orange cake aka Pig Pickin' or Cotton Pickin' cake, Banana & Pineapple Cake, and my favorite moniker, "Better than Sex Cake."  Once you start down that search path on the web, you'll fast realize the similarities between these cakes.  Some are doctored up cake mixes and others are from scratch.  I made an "easy" box mix option with homemade cream cheese icing.  All versions are truly Southern treats and, in true Southern fashion, slap-your-Momma-sweet.  Enjoy~


Here's what you will need...


Ingredients
1 (18 1/4 oz) boxed white or yellow cake mix (DO NOT get the kind with pudding in it) 
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice , undrained
medium bananas, mashed (I only had one banana since mystery mouths ate up the rest)
10 maraschino cherries, chopped
teaspoons maraschino cherry juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
teaspoon vanilla extract
teaspoon cinnamon (I forgot to add this part, but didn't miss it)
(I added two eggs since I was short a banana.  If it hurt things, I'm couldn't tell)
1 recipe for cream cheese frosting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  


Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well combined.  Divide mixture equally between 2 greased 9" round cake pans.  


Bake on both pans on middle oven rack for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on wax paper lined wire racks.  


Place one cake on a plate and frost with cream cheese frosting, taking care to make it heavier on top.  Place the remaining cake on top of the frosted cake to create a layer cake.  Frost the top layer so it blends with the bottom layer.  NOTE: If the cakes are not flat on the top, use a long knife to cut the "baking bump" off so they are flat BEFORE you frost them. It will give them a more uniform appearance.


Cream Cheese Frosting
1 block cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter 'til well combined.  Add sugar one cup at a time.  Add vanilla at the end and mix thoroughly until fluffy.



Foodie FridaySharing @ Designs by Gollum.

3 comments:

Michelle B said...

I never realized these were all the same cake. Ha!

A Kitchen Witch said...

Well, a lot of different ways to make a Hummingbird cake, but many others share a similar concept. One with crushed pineapple, another with mandarin oranges, one with coconut and nuts, others without. They're close cousins ; )

Sarah said...

Each of these varieties are moist, delicious cakes. ;-)