This moist Hummingbird Cake will wow your family and friends! Made with bananas, pineapple and pecans, and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting, it’s an American classic.
Hello hummingbird! ❤️
Have you ever had Hummingbird Cake before? It’s Ah-mazing.
A soft and moist banana cake loaded with pecans AND pineapple (I know right?) and topped with face-plant-worthy cream cheese frosting.
If you love banana cake, you will be ALL OVER this classic American cake. If not for the moist and flavourful cake, than for the rich cream cheese frosting. I could face plant into the bowl of frosting ALONE.
But once you put it all together? Heaven I tell you. I went one step further and made homemade pecan cookie crumbs to scatter on top. Because #yolo right?
I’ve mentioned to you before that I love one-layer cakes. I know layer cakes are all the rage right now but I feel like one layer cakes are often overlooked.
But to me, they’re baking old-school style and I love them.
So what can you expect with this gorgeous Hummingbird Cake? Well for one, a very moist cake, thanks to the banana. pineapple and oil. And there’s a surprising depth of flavour with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.
There’s a little crunch from the pecans INSDE the cake and then there’s that thick and luscious layer of cream cheese frosting. I mean really.
Butter, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar combine to make the most amazing frosting that pairs perfectly with the exotic flavours of the Hummingbird Cake.
The final touch for my Hummingbird Cake is a sprinkling of pecan cookie crumbs. They only take 10 minutes to make and honestly, they take this cake from good to great. They add a delicious crunch and so much nutty flavour.
They’re like crunchy shortbread pecan cookies. And I mean cake + frosting + cookies = heaven right? I can’t wait for you to try this one. Make sure you show me your photos on Instagram #sweetestmenu
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PinDescription
A beautiful moist Hummingbird Cake with cream cheese frosting and crunchy pecan cookie crumbs.
Ingredients
- 245 grams (1 and 3/4 cups) plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar
- 45 grams (1/4 cup) brown sugar
- 105 grams (1 cup) pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 cup mashed banana (approximately 2–3 overripe bananas)
- 1 cup tinned crushed pineapple in juice
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pecan cookie crumbs
- 105 grams (1 cup) pecans, finely chopped
- 70 grams (1/2 cup) plain flour
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornflour or cornstarch
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
Cream cheese frosting
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) butter, softened
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) full fat cream cheese, softened, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 435 grams (3 and 1/2 cups) icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch baking tin with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, place flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, caster sugar and brown sugar. Add pecans. Stir briefly to combine.
- Mash bananas well with a fork and measure out 1 cup. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients, add crushed pineapple and mashed banana. Add oil, eggs and vanilla.
- Use a spatula to gently fold ingredients together until wet and combined. Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 55-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Transfer cake to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the pecan cookie crumbs, add pecans, flour, sugar and cornflour to a medium mixing bowl. Pour over melted butter and stir until crumbs resemble wet sand.
- Line a baking tray with baking or parchment paper. Add cookie crumbs and spread into one even layer. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until just golden. Leave to cool completely.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and continue to beat until smooth.
- Add frosting to cake and use a small spatula to spread to the edges. Sprinkle over pecan cookie crumbs. Cut into slices and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice of cake
- Calories: 719
Keywords: Cake, Hummingbird, Cream cheese, Pecans, Banana, Pineapple, Dessert
Hi. Have recently made your delicious Hummingbird Cake here in Australia!! My guests all loved it and I found it so easy to make. I did however reduce the caster sugar to 1/2 cup in the cake mixture and it was perfect. Am making it again tomorrow for my daughter’s birthday as dessert. Your recipe has been given on to others now. Thank you!!
Aww you have literally made my day! ❤️ Thank you so much for your kind feedback Elisabeth!
This cake is amazing. Even my husband loved it and he hates bananas, I did forget to tell him it had bananas in it, but he didn’t notice anyway.. I didn’t have pecans so used walnuts, would that have made any difference to taste? I want to make a gluten free version as my daughter is coeliac, can you please advise me what gluten free flour would be best to use.
Hi Susan! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this cake! It’s one of my hubbys favourites too! Walnuts wouldn’t have made too much of a difference in taste, just a personal preference really. I haven’t tested this cake using gluten free flour so it’s hard for me to say. My suggestion would be just trying to find a gluten free flour that can be used 1:1 ratio to plain or all purpose flour. Thanks again for the lovely feedback!
It looks delicious!!
I was wondering about the size of the pineapple tin?
I’m assuming it is the smaller can not the larger size ,no mention of the ounces.
Can’t wait to make it
Thank you!
Hi Toni, sorry I don’t have the ounce measurements for you. As long as you have around 1 cup of pineapple you should be fine ☺️ Hope you enjoy the cake!
Delicious cake! Easy to make too. Thank you very much
So glad you enjoyed it Kelly! ☺️
I loved this recipe. It turned out really well. I did add my own things to it that enhanced the cake. I used 1/2 cup mariaschino cherries, and 1/4 cup coconut. I also used a German chocolate frosting instead of the cream cheese frosting. I baked it in a Spring form pan. Moistest cake ever! Definitely making it again. It’s a keeper
★★★★★
Wow that sounds amazing Linda! Love the idea of adding cherries 🍒 Thank you for the kind feedback!
I made this recipe for colleagues for my birthday and it was so very yummy! The batter was perfect for my bundt cake pan and it was in the oven for 45 minutes. When I make it again, I’d chop the nuts roughly (not finely) for the topping and half the recipe for the cookie crumble.. Thanks for a lovely keeper of a recipe!
Thanks for the lovely feedback Doreen! So pleased you enjoyed it! ☺️
Looks yummy! The photo shows roughly chopped nuts on top but the recipe says finely chopped on top (and roughly chopped in the batter. Is this correct?
Hi Doreen! You’re right! The pecans on tops are part of the cookie crumble and they probably are more roughly chopped than finely chopped – but either way will work just fine ☺️
This a really easy recipe. It turned out moist and the crumble on the top was divine!
Thankyou for the recipe
So glad you enjoyed it Karen! Thanks for the lovely feedback! ☺️
Do you drain the juice from the pineapple.?
Hi Nicole, great question! No need to drain, just use everything in the can, pineapple and juice 😊 I hope you enjoy the cake!
Really moist and beautiful cake and delicious icing! Would definitely recommend and make again.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for lovely feedback Bridget! So glad you enjoyed it xx
Hi, is it traditional, meaning the ingredients of bananas, pineapple and pecans, are carrots a traditional ingredient for this cake, thanks
Hi Karen! Yes bananas, pineapples and pecans are the traditional combination for Hummingbird cake. Sometimes coconut is added but not carrot. I hope you enjoy it!
One of the best cakes I’ve made! I used only 2 cups of icing sugar for the icing as this seemed like plenty of icing for my cake and i dont like things too sweet. Everyone was obsessed with this cake, WIll be making again next week 🙂 Thankyou!
Aw I’m so glad you enjoyed it Georgia! 😊 Thank you for your lovely comment!
Hi! This looks amazing. I only have a 9” round cake pan. Do you think that would be an ok substitution?
Hi Mary! Absolutely, it may just take a little less time to cook. I’d check it every 5 minutes from about 45 minutes. Hope you enjoy it!!
can this cake be made in a bundt pan?
Hi, I haven’t tried making it in a bundt pan myself, so I can’t personally recommend – sorry!
Best cake ever , yummilicious, tried for the first time and was loved by my friends, perfect brunch dessert 😋
★★★★★
So glad to hear that Saira! Thank you for the lovely feedback!!
Jessica,
This cake was so moist and delicious and yes, the cream cheese frosting topped it off
very well! Yummy 😋. Thank you so much for this keeper of a recipe.
Dunia
★★★★★
Hi Dunia! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this cake! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback 😊
Hi this cake looks amazing but I’m alergic to pineapple…..will it affect the taste too much if I leave it out or can you suggest another ingredient?
Hi Halima, thanks for your comment. Unfortunately the pineapple is an important ingredient in this recipe and it wouldn’t be the same without it. For a similar cake, I suggest making my Banana Snack Cake, you can swap walnuts for pecans and use the cream cheese frosting in this recipe on top. Hope that helps!
I never made hummingbird cake but it sure looks and sounds so delicious! Pinning!
★★★★★
Thanks Natalie!
Hummingbird cake is one of my absolute favourites!!! Looks so good. The icing is definitely face plant worthy 😉
Thanks Emma! It’s one of my favourites too! 🙂
This cake was delicious, my favourite part was the cream cheese frosting!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Josh! I know, the cream cheese frosting just might be the best part! 😉