The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (2024)

By: Krista

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Rating★★★★★ 5 from 8 votes

The Best Hummingbird Cake Recipe you’ll ever make, slathered with a light Cream Cheese Frosting. This twist on a classic homemade cake is filled with pineapple, bananas and cinnamon. Light, moist and beyond flavorful – it’s a must make for Easter or Mothers Day!

The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (1)

Table of Contents

  • The Best Hummingbird Cake
  • What is Hummingbird Cake?
  • What ingredients are in Hummingbird Cake?
  • How to decorate Hummingbird Cake:
  • How to store Hummingbird Cake:
  • Get the Recipe

The Best Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Cake! Have you had it before? It is hands down one of my favorite cakes!

There’s a restaurant that Mike and I love to go to for brunch Sunday mornings. I absolutely love their gourmet coffee drinks and their Pico de Gallo Eggs Benedict. Even though I’m obsessed with their breakfast menu, I’m even more obsessed with their Hummingbird Cake. I usually end up making Mike buy me a slice so we can take it home and I can indulge later on in the afternoon. I just can’t pass up that amazing cake! I have major self control problems when it comes to this cake! You’ll see why when you try it! It’s like tropical goodness!

The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (2)

What is Hummingbird Cake?

Hummingbird Cake is a pineapple banana infused spice cake with cinnamon and nutmeg. It is extremely moist and has a slight tropical taste. Typically layered with cream cheese frosting or vanilla buttercream. This cake was originated in Jamaica!

What ingredients are in Hummingbird Cake?

Hummingbird Cake contains crushed pineapple, banana, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, eggs, sugar, an oil, salt, a leavening agent and pecans. Because of the fruits used in this cake it is a little dense and very moist!

The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (3)

How to decorate Hummingbird Cake:

Honestly, it’s up to you. I made this a 3 layer cake but decided not to frost the edges to keep the calorie count down a little but also thought it looks beautiful because you could see the layers. Top it with raw pecans pieces and fresh flowers to really make it pop.

How to store Hummingbird Cake:

Because Hummingbird Cake is topped with a Cream Cheese Frosting it needs to be stored in the refrigerator, as well as any other cake that has cream cheese frosting on it. You want to take it out of the refrigerator about 1-2 hours before serving.

Hands down this Hummingbird Cake is my favorite cake dessert, even over chocolate! And that’s saying something because I’m a chocolate addict.

The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (4)

Now, truth be told. This cake while delicious can be a little heavy on the tummy if you know what I’m saying! As a way to lighten it up a bit I used coconut sugar and the fruits as sweeteners. It’s also made in 6″ round cake pan for a much smaller cake = a much smaller slice.

To lighten up the cream cheese frosting, I used a small amount of cream cheese and cut it with plain greek yogurt to thicken it up. For the sweetener I added maple syrup and vanilla because you’ve gotta have that key vanilla note. I also didn’t frost the entire cake. I only put frosting on the tops of each layer and added the pecans to the top instead of to the batter or to each layer.

The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (5)

You will absolutely love the Cream Cheese Frosting on this cake! It’s straight up addicting and gives a nice tart taste that pairs perfectly with the cake! It’s actually my sons favorite part. “More frosting mommy.”

Hummingbird Cake is totally one of my guilty pleasures but no more guilt with this version. I can’t wait to make this again for Easter!

Not only is it gorgeous to look at but seriously delicious, especially with a cup of coffee!

I hope you enjoy! Bon Appetit friends and happy weekend!

The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (6)

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The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (7)

The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Light Cream Cheese Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Krista
  • Prep Time: 25 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hr
  • Yield: 10 slices 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

The Best Hummingbird Cake Recipe you’ll ever make, slathered with a light Cream Cheese Frosting. This twist on a classic homemade cake is filled with pineapple, bananas and cinnamon – extremely moist and light.

Ingredients

Scale

Hummingbird Bird:

  • 2 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup of coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/3 cup of coconut oil, melted

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 4 oz. of cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 teaspoons of pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup of chopped pecans

Instructions

For the Hummingbird Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Grease and flour three 6″ round cake pans.
  3. In a large bowl add flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
  4. In a stand mixer add egg, egg yolk, and coconut sugar. Mix until creamy and smooth.
  5. Add in mashed banana, coconut oil, crushed pineapple, and vanilla extract mix until combined.
  6. Slowly add flour mixture into wet mixture in two batches. Make sure it is fully combined.
  7. Separate batter into the three prepared cake pans.
  8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

  1. In a medium bowl add cream cheese, greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
  2. Using a hand mixture, mix until there are no more clumps and the frosting is smooth.
  3. Assemble the cake in this order, cake round, cream cheese frosting and repeat until finished. Garnish with pecans. (do not frost the sides)

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 329
  • Sugar: 24 g
  • Sodium: 299 mg
  • Fat: 14 g
  • Saturated Fat: 9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 46 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Cholesterol: 50 mg

Filed Under:

  • Cake/Pie/Crisp
  • Dessert
  • Holidays
  • Kid Friendly

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The BEST Hummingbird Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (2024)

FAQs

Does hummingbird cake need to be refrigerated? ›

Hummingbird Cake should be stored in an airtight container or well-covered with plastic wrap to protect it from drying out. It can be stored at room temperature (if less than 70 degrees F) for two days or will last in the refrigerator for up to one week.

What's the difference between carrot cake and hummingbird cake? ›

Take out the carrots and add pineapple and banana, and you'll get the idea. In theory, using fruits and vegetables to sweeten the crumb of a cake is a wonderful thing. In practice, sometimes the vegetables people use are carrots.

What does a hummingbird cake taste like? ›

What does hummingbird cake taste like? Hummingbird cake tastes like the best banana bread ever, crossed with a carrot cake that some absent-minded baker forgot to bake with the carrots and raisins.

Why do they call it a hummingbird cake? ›

Created in Jamaica where the dessert is called the doctor bird cake (or Dr. Bird cake), it is named after the island's national bird, the scissors-tail hummingbird (locally known as the doctor bird).

How long can a cake with cream cheese frosting sit out? ›

While the addition of butter and powdered sugar does help to stabilize it, cream cheese frosting should only be left out at room temperature for two hours before it needs to be put in the fridge.

Why did my hummingbird cake fall apart? ›

Extra sugar or leavening will cause a cake to fall; too much flour makes it dry.

What is a Mary Jane cake? ›

noun. a small, round sponge cake, usually with a circular indentation on top, for topping with fruit, whipped cream, etc., and served as an individual portion.

Which type of cake is more tasty? ›

Chocolate is often touted to be one of the best cake flavours. It's almost impossible to resist a slice of gooey, moist chocolate cake. These cakes are made with chocolate sponge, layered with chocolate ganache or mousse, or topped with truffle frosting.

What is a pink princess cake? ›

A princess cake (prinsesstårta in Swedish) is a traditional Swedish layer cake consisting of alternating layers of airy sponge cake, raspberry or strawberry jam, pastry cream, and a thick-domed layer of whipped cream. This is topped by marzipan, giving the cake a smooth rounded top.

What cake does the queen eat? ›

When it's time to treat herself, McGrady revealed that all the Queen wants is a piece of chocolate biscuit cake. The cake is reportedly made in-house (or, more appropriately, in-palace), and Her Majesty consumes one slice per day.

What is a duch*ess cake? ›

The duch*ess cake, also known as the "Swedish Princess Cake" is a pastry classic. Made with light lemon chiffon cake, vanilla bean pastry cream, home made raspberry jam, vanilla bean whipped cream and finished off in the classic dome shape, covered in marzipan.

What flavor do hummingbirds like? ›

Hummingbirds typically prefer a sweeter, sugar solution to natural food, most likely because of consistency.

Should I refrigerate cake layers before frosting? ›

Cold Cakes Make for Fewer Crumbs

Instead of simply trying to frost it at room temperature, wrap the layers in plastic and put them in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours or even overnight. In fact, the layers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week if you need to space out your cake baking project.

Why is my hummingbird cake so dense? ›

It is a heavy cake because of fruit content, but it should still have a good crumb. If by "dense" you mean gummy and wet, then I would suggest over-mixing could be the issue.

How long will a hummingbird cake last? ›

Hummingbird cake is best stored in the refrigerator and will keep for up to 5 days there, just make sure to keep it tightly covered in an airtight container. It's such a moist cake the cool refrigerator doesn't do much damage to its tender crumb.

How long can cake sit out unrefrigerated? ›

How long can cake sit out unrefrigerated? If your cake is frosted with buttercream, it will last covered at room temperature for up to four days. However, it is best to refrigerate cakes with other frostings such as cream cheese or ganache. A fully covered unfrosted cake will last for up to 2 days at room temperature.

What kind of cake does not need to be refrigerated? ›

Most cakes—the butter-based cakes, oil-based cakes, chiffon cakes, and sponge cakes of the world—keep well at room temperature for at least one to two days.

Does cooked cake need to be refrigerated? ›

If you made a cake that won't be served for a few days, cover and refrigerate your cake. Lastly, if your cake includes a fresh fruit filling or topping, or has a frosting made with whipped cream or mascarpone, cover and refrigerate it until you are ready to serve, and refrigerate any leftovers as well.

Does meringue cake need to be refrigerated? ›

The cake layers can be baked a day in advance and stored in airtight containers. But please note that the meringue can soften quickly, particularly in a humid environment. Leftovers should be stored in the fridge and eaten within 24 hours.

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