Hummingbird Cake is a delicious classic Southern cake recipe. Made with bananas, pineapple, and pecans and topped with a cream cheese frosting!
Are you looking for more delicious cake recipes? I think you’ll love my Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Best Chocolate Cake, Coconut Cake, and Best White Cake.
Hummingbird Cake is a favorite cake recipe of my family. My grandmother would make it for special occasions, especially around Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, or spring birthdays. It was always front and center at any family gatherings or church socials. Topped with delicious Cream Cheese Frosting and full of banana, pineapple, and roasted pecans, Hummingbird Cake is a Southern classic cake recipe.
Table of Contents
Hummingbird Cake Recipe
How to Make Hummingbird Cake
Ingredients for Hummingbird Cake
To make this favorite cake, you’ll need these ingredients:
- All-purpose flour – Use a light all-purpose flour. You can also substitute it with cake flour.
- Granulated sugar – I use granulated white or raw cane sugar. Use your favorite sugar replacement for baking.
- Baking soda and Baking powder – both are used in this cake recipe.
- Salt – I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you substitute with Morton’s Kosher salt, fine sea salt, or table salt, you will only need half the amount of the salt called for in the recipe.
- Ground cinnamon – adds a warm cozy flavor to the cake.
- Eggs – Use room temperature eggs as they incorporate the best into the cake batter.
- Vegetable oil – makes for a moist, tender cake. You can substitute with melted coconut oil, avocado oil, or even melted and cooled butter.
- Vanilla extract – Use your favorite store-bought pure vanilla extract or homemade.
- Bananas – Fresh bananas are mashed and incorporated into the cake batter. They add richness and moisture to the cake.
- Crushed pineapple – The pineapple adds so much fresh flavor to the cake.
- Roasted pecans – the toasted pecans add texture and flavor to the cake. However, I generally omit if serving where there could be a nut allergy or sensitivity.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients. Cream the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, pineapple, mashed bananas, and finely chopped roasted pecans in another large bowl.
- Stir. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.
- Bake. Then, divide the batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
- Cool the cake layers. Remove from oven once done and cool in the cake pans for about 10 minutes. Then, turn the cakes onto a wire rack to allow the cakes to cool completely.
- Frost and serve. Once the cakes are completely cool, frost them with Cream Cheese Frosting. I usually make my frosting while my cake is in the oven. Then serve and enjoy!
Origins of Hummingbird Cake
As far as the original maker of the hummingbird cake, it was submitted to Southern Living magazine for the February 1978 issue by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina. Even though she provided her lovely recipe, she did not include the story behind it or its name. Some would say that is a loss, but I think Mrs. Wiggins did us a great favor by allowing our imaginations to conjure up stories as sweet as her delicious cake.
Be sure to add this cake recipe to your must-make list for your next get together. It is sure to delight as well as quickly disappear. Remember to cut the slices thinly as it is rich and as sweet as southern sweet tea.
Role of Oil in Cakes
Cakes using oil in the recipe tend to bake higher, stay moist and tender longer, and result in a cake with an even, open crumb and a coarser texture than those using butter.
How Long Does Hummingbird Cake Last?
I prefer to store this cake in the refrigerator since it contains fruit and is topped with cream cheese frosting. In the fridge, it will last up to a week.
Here’s the Hummingbird Cake recipe my family has used for years. It differs slightly from Mrs. Wiggins’ original, but I love the changes.
Hummingbird Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (396 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (2.8 g) kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (3.9 g) ground cinnamon
- 3 large (150 g) eggs
- 1 cup (198 g) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons (9.4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 (8-ounce) can (249 g) crushed pineapple,, undrained
- 3 (454 g) bananas, ripe, mashed (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup (114 g) roasted pecans, finely chopped
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream Wet Ingredients. Cream together the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, pineapple, mashed bananas, and finely chopped pecans in another large bowl. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.
- Bake and cool. Evenly divide the batter between the three prepared pans and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Turn cakes onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- Frost. Frost with cream cheese frosting.
- Store. Store in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap or a cake dome for up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published in 2011.
My cream cheese frosting is always too thin–opposite of yours. Is this from letting it get too soft?
Hi Dee,
It could be, but I’ve shared a few tips in the writing of the post for my Cream Cheese Recipe. Hopefully, so of those will be helpful. Thanks! xo
Made this for my daughter’s birthday. Had no pecans in the house so I substituted walnuts. Reduced the powdered sugar in the icing to 2 cups and added toasted sweetened coconut to the sides. Looks pretty good to me! Waiting to cut into it to taste it, it i can tell it’s going to be good.
Wonderful to hear, Linda! Enjoy! xo
The icing on the Hummingbird cake
Looks delicious! My friend is requesting this cake for her birthday this weekend, although she is asking for it to be gluten free. Do you think I can replace the all purpose using the same amount of gluten free?
Also, I’ve never made this before. Is the texture different from banana bread? It seems to have a lot of similarities!
Hi Gabrielle,
It is a different texture than banana bread. I’ve not made this particular cake with gluten free flour, but in some of my other cakes, I’ve used the Cup 4 Cup brand successfully. Enjoy the cake – it’s delicious! xo
This is a fab recipe. I’m a big fan of your best chocolate cake recipe but had never even heard of Hummingbird cake before coming across this recipe (don’t think it’s well known in Ireland!). The recipe produces a really moist flavourful sponge though I was a little heavier handed with the pecans and cinnamon as I’m a big fan of both.
The cream cheese frosting didn’t turn out anything like the photo for this cake though (perhaps I underwhipped the cream cheese as I was afraid of overwhipping it) but I thickened it with more icing sugar and did this as a “Naked” cake -, plenty of frosting on top and between the layers and everyone loved it. Would certainly make it again – thanks for sharing!
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoyed the cake Grainne! As the story goes, the Hummingbird Cake originated in the southern United States. Thank you for the kind comment! xo
This cake was a success! My family and friends loved it!
Wonderful and very moist awesome Sunday dinner cake !!!
Glad you liked it, Mandy! xo
Interesting reading about this delightful cake. https://www.southernliving.com/desserts/cakes/hummingbird-cake-history
Has anyone made omitting pecans? My daughter has a nut allergy and wonder how it comes out without pecans. Thanks!
My daughter cannot have nuts either. The cake is delicious without nuts. Very moist! I make it quiet often.
I have made a couple of Robins cake recipes before and I love everyone I have made so far…..My family loves Hummingbird Cake so I have made it before but I used a different recipe,so after I make this recipe I will come back and write another review.
Thanks, Margaret. I hope you love the Hummingbird Cake just as much as the others. xo
I’ve made this cake and everyone loved it! I would like to make it when I go to Aspen,Co to visit my son & daughter in law. Do you know what adjustments I would have to make because of the higher elavation? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Hi Gail,
I am so happy you enjoyed the cake! It’s one of our favorites too!
I think you will need to make some adjustments for elevation, but I don’t know what they are. There may be information about baking at high elevations online or from other comments that may help.
I hope you have a great trip!
Thanks so much! xo
I found this on facebook, I hope it helps…Hummingbird Cake (for high altitude)
3 C. flour
1 3/4 C. sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 C. mashed ripe banana (3 to 4 lg.)
3 room temp. eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 C. canola oil
1, 8 oz. can unsweetened, undrained, crushed pineapple
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. chopped walnuts
3 T. water
In lg. mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients.
Add eggs, bananas, oil, pineapple, water, and vanilla.
Beat until combined. Stir in walnuts.
Pour into 3 greased and floured, 9 inch round, baking pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 min. or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool on rack for 10 min.; them remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
Frost with cream cheese frosting and top with chopped walnuts and toasted coconut.
Enjoy!