willow's hummingbird cake

i made a cake this past weekend! i'm almost fifty two years old and you know how susan boyle has never been kissed? well, i'd never made a cake from scratch until i got all inspired and found out how amazingly easy it really is!!

i found the recipe at fellow blogger willow's manor, one of the loveliest and most interesting blogs out there. willow posted this a little while back and explained that the "hummingbird" part of its name comes from the happy hum people make when they eat a slice of this incredible cake. she's right! you do hum because it truly is so good!

(here's a picture of hummingbird cake that i found on the net. it's got nuts in - mine didn't! but it's a good pic.)


i made the cake in three sections - because i discovered that we actually own one 9 inch round pan, oh and it's not a pan but a pie plate so it makes the cake flare out at the sides. a cool effect when you place three layers one-on-top-of-the-other!!! icing such a structure is challenging but not impossible.

the end result? well i found that with my cold i could really taste the banana but not so much the pineapple. however there's enough of it that i'll likely see this cold good and gone before i run out of cake!

one other detail i forgot to check is who in my family actually likes pineapple in a cake. well it turns out that i'm pretty much on my own in that department! so i win the big prize today! three or four pounds of hummingbird cake all to myself!!

here's a closeup of willow's cake (i hope you don't mind i borrowed the pic willow?! it looks way better than mine!)

here's the recipe.

willow's hummingbird cake

[cake]
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 4)
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup chopped walnuts (i skipped these)
2 tsp vanilla extract (i put in three)

[frosting]
1 1/2 cups coconut
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese softened
2 sticks butter softened
1 tsp vanilla extract (i put in 2)
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar

heat oven to 350. butter and flour three round 9 inch cake pans if you've got 'em!).
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and
salt. add eggs and oil, stirring until moist; do not beat. stir in
pineapple with juice, bananas, walnuts (i skipped the walnuts) and vanilla.

divide batter evenly among cake pans. or pour what you think is one third into your only "cake pan" bake 20 minutes. cool
10 minutes in pan, then invert on wire racks to cool. then do that all over again. and again!!

frost between all layers, as well as sides and top of cake.
top with coconut. you can make this cake a day or two ahead, as it
ages well, and actually moistens with age.