Hummingbird Cake Cupcakes

Banana, crushed pineapple with juice, cinnamon, toasted pecans, cream cheese frosting

I read about Hummingbird Cake somewhere, sometime and decided to make it to share for my birthday this year instead of my usual Banana Nut Cake* (as a sheet cake) and ** full nuts 2017 and *** Banana Cake with Creamy Nut Frosting No Nuts. Banana nut is my favorite cake, and Hummingbird Cake is a variation made with banana and canned crushed pineapple along with a hint of cinnamon, toasted pecans and cream cheese frosting.

I found a recipe which was exceedingly simple, no mixer needed for the cake batter, halved the recipe because I wanted to make it in cupcake form to share with my Chinese lady friends at Sunday afternoon Mahjongg and three layers is a messy way to share except when there are 12 or so people with a plate in their hand waiting for a slice.

I shared one with my neighbor lady and we can both testify that the flavor is delicious, the texture is moist without being soggy and, with careful attention, flavors of the banana and pineapple can be discerned. I will certainly make it again, perhaps with chopped, roasted pecans in the layered version for a different crowd and maybe again for my birthday next year when I’ll be 75 and want a family party.

Toasted pecans on top rather than inside, just in case someone can’t have nuts.

The batter is made in one bowl, dry ingredients first, then the eggs, oil, smashed banana, crushed pineapple with its juice, vanilla and 20 minutes at 350 degrees for 15 cupcakes. I used my own recipe for cream cheese frosting because I prefer it. (If you look at the cake recipe which I used, you’ll understand that I did not want mountains of frosting on cupcakes as shown on that cake: https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/hummingbird-cake-recipe )

Easy does it on the frosting. Toasted pecans make it so special.

*Last year: https://mschefinseattle.com/2021/09/14/happy-birthday-to-me/

**full size 2017 https://mschefinseattle.com/2017/09/14/its-a-mystery-my-birthday-cake/

*** https://mschefinseattle.com/2016/10/09/sunday-cake-banana-nut-with-creamy-nut-icing-no-nuts/

I watch the Japanese sumo and look forward each day of the basho to see my favorite sumo wrestlers in the bouts recorded on the Xfinity box. Sunday the 18th is the 9th day of the Autumn basho and there is an earth-shattering typhoon approaching Japan as I write. Millions of people have been told to evacuate as the typhoon approaches, one of the biggest to hit the islands in modern history and it will cause flooding, storm surges, blow down houses in extremely high speed winds. We are so lucky in Seattle to never face storms such as Typhoon Nanmodal.