Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 360 g flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp allspice powder
• ¼ tsp clove powder
• ½ tsp ginger powder
• 4 banana(s), ripe
• 2 cans of pineapple (760 g)
• 3 large eggs
• 160 ml sunflower oil
• 200 g brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250 g salted pecans (+ 10 for garnishing, optional)
• Banana juice or canned pineapple syrup, optional
• 225 g butter, room temperature
• 225 g cream cheese, wrung out and cold
• 200 g powdered sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 4 hours

Caution: Cream cheese frosting is characterized by its very freshness due to the cream cheese – mascarpone or sour cream are not substitutes. You should also use the richest cream cheese you can get and definitely squeeze the water out of the cream cheese. The amount of powdered sugar has already been reduced; in American recipes it is three times as much. Reducing the sugar further would change the consistency. The powdered sugar absorbs the moisture from the cream cheese and plays an important role. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Next, mix the dry batter ingredients. Mash the bananas on a plate with a fork. Tip out the canned pineapple and cut pieces from the rings. Roughly chop the pecans. Beat the banana with the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract until frothy. Then mix in the dry ingredients and fold in half of the pineapple and the pecans. Grease two baking pans and line them with parchment paper, spread the batter evenly, and bake for about 30 minutes. Then do the toothpick test. For the frosting, place the cold cream cheese in a kitchen towel and wring it out until all the liquid is out (I wring it out for up to 5 minutes). Then beat the butter on the highest speed for at least 5 minutes until white and fluffy. Stop the mixer, add the wrung-out cream cheese, and mix. Sift in the powdered sugar to prevent any lumps in the frosting. Add the vanilla extract (no flavoring) and salt, and mix everything again (scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix frequently). After making the frosting, chill it for 60 minutes because it needs to be chilled before use (it can be frozen for up to six months). Assembly: Cut the two completely cooled cake layers in half, place the bottom layer on a cake board, and saturate it with banana juice or pineapple syrup. Then pipe the frosting onto the cake base. Distribute the pineapple chunks on top and cover with another cake layer – repeat this process until the last layer is covered. Spread the frosting (crumb coat) over the cake until all the crumbs are absorbed and chill for 30 minutes. Then spread the final layer of frosting and decorate as desired (I put the 10 pecans on top). You can also find the recipe here: https://www.lillyscupcakery.de/hummingbird-cake?rq=humming