This Hummingbird Sheet Cake is a fun snack or dessert. The traditional Hummingbird cake is a layered cake but I thought a sheet cake would allow for smaller portions and transport better.
So I turned it into a 9 X 13" slab cake. It also cut down on the volume of icing needed dramatically. From 16 down to 8 oz of cream cheese, ½ cup of butter instead of 1 cup and 1 cup of icing sugar from 3 cups. Pretty proud of myself if I do say so.....
And the officialty 'taste tester' has approved it heartily!
My Mother-in-law used to make a killer banana cake with cream cheese icing. I will have to dig around and see if I can find her actual recipe. While I was thinking of her banana cake though I saw this recipe in the June 2001 Bon Appetit edition.
I was intrigued by the addition of pineapple so I wanted to try it. It makes a dense, chewy cake rather than a fluffy cake. It is nice and moist with all those bananas and that pineapple!
Chef's Tips for Hummingbird Sheet Cake
- This makes a dense, moist cake. Check the cake center carefully with a toothpick to ensure the center is cooked through. Add time as necessary.
- If you prefer to make it as a layer cake use 2 9" round pans with 2" sides. Bake time is the same but double the icing recipe.
- Cake keeps well and freezes well.
Hummingbird Sheet Cake
If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!
Save Print Pin FacebookIngredients
Hummingbird Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups ripe bananas chopped or mashed
- 1 cup chopped pecans (you can substitute walnuts)
- 1 cup crushed pineapple with juice
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 X 13" baking dish with cooking spray.
- Mix the dry cake ingredients well in a large bowl. Add in the oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
- Stir in the bananas, nuts and pineapple. Mix well.
- Pour batter into the baking dish and bake for about 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Allow cake to cool completely.
Frosting
- Beat cream cheese and butter together with electric mixer. Beat in sugar and vanilla.
- You can spread the frosting uniformly over the slab cake with an offset spatula. If you choose to pipe the dressing it will not cover the entire cake so make a lattice pattern so you can cut between the frosting rows and each piece will have some frosting florettes.
Leave a Reply