Hummingbird Cake

Hi all!  Sorry my posts are a little scattered this week, but between the holiday and Ittybit starting a new year of preschool, I feel so far behind!  I've been promising this for a while and finally had the time to sit down and post.  For those of you who asked, here is the recipe for Hummingbird Cake -- with a few pictures of the family, of course!  This was the cake Eldest Son requested for his birthday.  TTFN.

XOXO,

Kim

Hummingbird Cake

For the Cake:

cooking spray
3C (plus a little for dusting) all purpose flour
1tsp baking soad
1 tsp salt
2C sugar
3/4C vegetable oil (I use Wesson best blend oil)
3 large, ripe bananas, chopped
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple with juice (I only use Dole)
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1tsp ground cinnamon
4 large eggs, beaten

For the Frosting:

1 pound (1 box) powdered sugar
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 stick butter, softened
1tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 and spray and flour three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.  Tap out excess flour.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the cake.  I tend to use my KitchenAid to make sure all ingredients are incorporated without breaking up the pineapple and banana too much.

Divide among the three pans and bake for about 30 minutes.  If using more than one rack, make sure to rotate cakes halfway through for even cooking.  Cakes are cooked when the tops spring back after being lightly gently pressed.

Cool on wire racks for about 10 minutes in pans.  Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely, top side up, before frosting.

For frosting, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until creamy.  You can add milk for your desidred consistency, but I don't use any.

Use about 1/4 of the frosting on the first layer, 1/4 of the frosting on the second layer and the remaing frosting for the rest of the cake.  Makes a beautiful three layer cake.  Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.  Bring cake back to room temperature before serving. 

Note:  You can also add pecans or walnuts  to the cake and/or the frosting, but we opt not.