Hummingbird Cake

Hi ya'll and welcome back to Adventures In Baking.  I know I ended the last baking post mentioning pie and fruit, but I just wasn't feelin' it.  I do want to make a pie for the simple experience of making a pie.  But I don't like pie.  So none of the recipes sounded remotely good.  I did find quite a few strawberry pies.  And I like strawberries.  So that's my goal for sometime in the future.  After the cookie abundance last week and the chocolate overload from those yummy chocolate cupcakes a couple weeks ago, I decided to try this recipe from Bake or Break.  It's called Hummingbird Cake (although I keep calling it Whippoorwill Cake).  It isn't intentional, I just keep getting the birds mixed up!  Have you ever heard of Whippoorwill  Hummingbird Cake?  I hadn't heard of it, but with my limited dessert knowledge that shouldn't surprise anyone.  I was a little curious about the origin so I did a little research.  Apparently no one knows why it's named after a Whi Hummingbird, but according to Southern Living magazine, it's the most searched recipe in history. 

The ingredients.  Lots of ingredients.  Odd combination.  You've got your staples such as flour, sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla.  You've got your bananas and pineapple.  And you've got your extras: pecans, cinnamon, cream cheese and milk?   What a combination.

Let's get started.   Easy enough ... Sprinkle pecans in bottom of pan.  This cake is off to a good start already!  Pecans=Yes, please

Next step.  Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in eggs, bananas, pineapple, oil and vanilla.  Stir just until moistened and pour evenly into pan.  As you can see, the above photo is a spoon.  This is a special spoon.  This spoon has traveled many miles.  This is my go-to spoon for all stirring assignments.  I have other spoons.  But I always choose this one.   When I first moved out on my own.  REALLY on my own, not just in a dorm on my own, I moved two states and five hours away.  I had my new dishes, pots and pans, glassware and silverware.  I had teaspoons and slotted spoons and 'big' spoons.  But I couldn't find a 'big' spoon that felt right.  The weight was off.  The way it fit in my hand wasn't good.  My first on-my-own Christmas you know what I asked for?  Yep, a spoon.  Let me repeat.... A SPOON.  But not just any spoon.  I asked for the spoon that I grew up with from my mom's silverware.  I got a spoon for Christmas!  I was sooooo happy and still am.  Heck, I've just written an entire paragraph about a spoon!  It's the little things in life.....

Final step.  Bake and cool.  Isn't it pretty?  Nice color. 

Frosting.  Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth and pourable.  Pour over cake and sprinkle pecans over top.  It looks like a gigantic donut.

Taste test.  Maybe I do like cake.  I'd give this an A, but I could do without the bananas.  Between the banana muffins and this I can safely say I'm not a fan of mushed bananas.  I like bananas in fruit salad.  And taffy.  Banana flavor that is.  In the taffy. 

On the next episode...... I've been sitting on a brownie recipe and I think it's time to break it out. 

Extra, Extra!  I've been a tad neglectful of the ol' blog-o postings lately, but now that tax season (and all the over-time that comes with it) is winding down maybe I can get a few more things completed and posted.  As a little extra, I'll be posting the second cookie from last weeks cookie-fest in the next few days so stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by

-Teddra