Hummingbird Cake

I made this on Friday afternoon having sampled Lantana’s version and I have to say it’s the best cake I have ever made. Here’s the recipe:

For the cake:
420 gr Plain Flour
400 gr Fine caster sugar
1tsp bicarbonate of sode
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 large Eggs
Pineapple (1 small tin, 227g, chopped, undrained)
4 small bananas, mashed
2 tsp Vanilla extract
110 gr Pecan nuts, toasted and chopped finely
180ml rapeseed oil

For the icing:
454 gr icing sugar
57 gr unsalted butter (room temperature)
227 gr crème cheese (room temperature)
55 gr pecan nuts, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract

It's very easy, to make the base, mix and whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another then combine the two throughly.

Toast the pecans for around 8 minutes, either in the oven or in a dry frying pan on the hob (being careful not to let them burn), chop finely and add to the cake mix. Divide between 2 tins (i used 7 inch tins for a thick sponge) which have been greased and lined and bake for 35-40 mins at 180°.

To make the icing, mix all the ingredients with an electric mixer and sandwich the cakes together (when cooled) with 1/3 of the mixture spreading the remaining icing over the top and around the sides of the cakes.

It's wickedly sweet so small portions are recommended serving around 12-14 people or 3 greedier people over the course of the weekend! Everyone should make this, I think that next time I will make lots of smaller ones and perhaps use a variety of nuts (though the pecans are particularly good here because of the high fat content, they contribute to keeping the mixture moist, the pecans and the sea of oil!) Sounds gross but rest assured it's delish!