Cakes

Hummingbird Cake

Name: Hummingbird Cake
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 16 to 20 slices
Ingredients: Olive oil, for greasing; 700g self-raising flour; 3 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 pinches nutmeg; 500g golden caster sugar; 2 large pinches sea salt; 8 medium very ripe bananas; 2 x 425g tins pineapple chunks; 500ml olive oil; 4 large eggs; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp rum extract; 150g pecans; 450g icing sugar; 300g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 450g cream cheese; 2 limes; 1 tsp vanilla extract; Cornstarch, if needed; 200g caster sugar; 150g pecans

A four-layer hummingbird cake with cream cheese icing and pecan brittle on a gold cake stand

16 to 20 slices
Total time 3 hr 30

Hummingbird cake is Jamaican, where it is called doctor bird cake after the island's national bird, and it only became an American classic because the Jamaica Tourist Board posted the recipe to US journalists in 1968 to sell holidays. It worked better as a cake than as an advertisement.

I have made this many times and I now double everything, because the cake simply looks better with four layers than with two. It started as fear of running out at a party with a lot of people, and then I kept doing it. Be warned that this is very rich and very sweet. People love it and then they do not come back for a second slice because it is too filling. Make the full cake only if you are feeding at least fifteen. For fewer guests, halve every ingredient and bake two sponges instead of four.

The bananas have to be very ripe, black-spotted and soft. Underripe bananas give you a drier, blander sponge and there is no fixing it afterwards.

Ingredients

This is a bake, so the amounts are fixed to the tins.

The Sponge

Olive oil, for greasing
700g self-raising flour
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
500g golden caster sugar
2 large pinches sea salt
8 medium very ripe bananas
2 x 425g tins pineapple chunks
500ml olive oil
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp rum extract
150g pecans

The Icing

450g icing sugar
300g unsalted butter, at room temperature
450g cream cheese
2 limes
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cornstarch, if needed

The Brittle

200g caster sugar
150g pecans

Equipment

Two 23cm round cake tins
Electric hand whisk or stand mixer
Non-stick frying pan
Baking paper
Cake stand or board

The Simple Process

Prep: Take the butter out an hour ahead so it softens. Heat the oven to 180°C, or 160°C fan (350°F). Grease both tins with olive oil and line the bases with baking paper. Drain the pineapple well and chop it finely. Finely chop the 150g of pecans for the sponge.
The Dry Mix: Sift the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and the salt.
The Wet Mix: Mash the bananas with a fork until almost smooth. Add the chopped pineapple, olive oil, eggs, vanilla and rum extract, and mix until it comes together.
The Batter: Pour the wet mix into the dry and fold until you can no longer see any flour. Fold in the chopped pecans. You are making four sponges, so divide the batter into four equal portions.
Bake: Pour two portions into the tins and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until risen, golden, and springy when you press the centre. Run a knife around the edges, leave them for 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks.
Bake Again: Line the tins again and bake the other two portions the same way. Make the icing and the brittle while these are in the oven.
The Icing: Sift the icing sugar into a mixer and beat it with the soft butter until pale and creamy. Add the cream cheese, the vanilla, the zest of 2 limes and the juice of 1. Beat only until it is just smooth. Over-beating turns cream cheese icing runny. Chill until you need it.
The Brittle: Put the caster sugar in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat. Do not stir it. Let it melt and turn golden, then add a splash of water. It will spit, so stand back and pour from the side. Add the pecans and a pinch of salt, turn them to coat, and take the pan off the heat while the caramel is still amber, not dark.
Set and Break: Tip the brittle onto oiled baking paper and leave it until completely cold and hard. Chop it with a large knife into chunks, or crush it finer with a rolling pin. I go for chunks, because they are harder to work with and they look better on the cake.
Cool: All four sponges have to be completely cold before you touch them. The second pair needs about half an hour on the rack. Warm sponge melts icing and there is no way back from that.
Assemble: Stack the four sponges on a stand, spreading icing between each one. Scatter a little brittle into one or two of the middle layers as you go, using about half of it. A hint, not a handful.
Finish: Cover the top and sides with the rest of the icing, right down to the board, then press the remaining brittle over the top and around the edges.