Hummingbird Cake

   
This cake was a special one! Not only was this cake made for my colleague Jessica's birthday, but it was my last baking creation at USC! I came across this Southern recipe in my "America's Best Lost Recipes" cookbook. I had never heard of Hummingbird cake before, but apparently it's the most requested recipe of Southern Living magazine.
   
Hummingbird Cake is a rich, very sweet cake made of... hummingbirds. Okay, okay, it does not actually contain hummingbirds. It is made of bananas, pineapple, and pecans. It has the characteristics of carrot cake and a similar taste of banana bread. The Hummingbird Cake has the nickname "Never-ending cake" because it is so dense and filling; it should be served in small slices making it perfect for large groups.
   
The origination of the Hummingbird Cake recipe is a mystery. Some say the cake originated in Jamaica. After all, Jamaica's national bird is a type of hummingbird. Makes sense.  Some believe the cake originated in the South due to ingredients such as pecans (a southern staple). Who knows? Maybe the cake got it's name because it's sweet enough for a hummingbird? There are many hypotheses, but what we do know is that the recipe was first published in Southern Living in 1978- submitted by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina.

I followed the recipe from a great cake blog named Sweetapolita. The recipe is actually modified from another great blog called Joy of Baking. Beside using three bananas instead of four, I followed the recipe exactly. Making the cake was easy and everything went smoothly except for one thing... I ran out of cream cheese frosting! I put too much frosting between the cake layers. Out of desperation, I was forced to use a can of vanilla frosting to finish the cake. I mixed the canned frosting with cream cheese and it worked well.

Despite uneven layers and the frosting disaster, this cake turned out really delicious. I plan to make this cake again- next time a little less sloppily to improve aesthetics. Other than that, this cake is pretty much perfect.