Hummingbird Cake

Good afternoon bloggers! My first official post was always going to be, what I believe, to be the perfect Hummingbird Cake. This recipe has been tweaked, tried and tested – oh so many times! It is the perfect treat for a lazy afternoon, so grab some friends and some tea and enjoy.

Hummingbird Cake:
250g self-raising flour, 1 cup sunflower oil, 270g brown sugar, 2 eggs, lightly beaten, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 440g can of crushed pineapple, drained well, 2 ripe medium sized bananas, mashed, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 50g desiccated coconut.

1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
2. Grease and line the base of a 20cm cake pan. Sift flour and spices into a large bowl. Add in your sugar, pineapple, coconut, banana, walnuts, eggs and oil. Gently stir to combine, be careful not to over mix.
3. Spread into lined pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Place on a wire rack and set aside to cool. Turn your oven down to 50°C.

Cream Cheese Icing:
100g cream cheese, 50g unsalted butter , tsp vanilla extract, 225g icing sugar, 1 cup finely chopped walnuts, to garnish (optional), 1 cup desiccated coconut (optional), Cookie cutter of your choice.

1. Once your cake has completely cooled, place all ingredients for your icing into an electric mixer. Mix on a low speed until they are just combine, slowly increase the speed and beat until smooth.

2. Using an angled spatular, spread the icing over the top and sides of your cake.

3. On a lined cookie tray, mix the coconut and 3/4's of the walnuts and spread evenly. Place in the oven until coconut is lightly toasted. Remove and let cool.

4. Place your cookie cutter in the center of your cake and with the remaining walnuts, fill the shape until no icing can be seen.

5. Using your hands, gently press your coconut/walnut mixture to the sides of your cake.