Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Raquel · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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This easy Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake recipe is a wonderful southern classic when it comes to dessert. Made with pineapple, pecans and spices and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting.

We are all about sharing easy dinner and dessert ideas and this simple cake recipe is sure to please.

This is one of our easy dessert cake recipes you will want to bookmark for later.

Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (1)
Jump to:
  • Why You Will Love This Recipe for a Hummingbird Cake
  • Ingredients For Classic Hummingbird Cake
  • How to Make A Hummingbird Cake
  • How To Make Hummingbird Cake Frosting
  • Pro Tips and Timesaver Shortcuts
  • Serving and Storage Suggestions
  • Recipe FAQs
  • More Easy Dessert Cakes
  • My Best Cake Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You Will Love This Recipe for a Hummingbird Cake

This is a delicious flavorful cake. It is like a cross between carrot cake and a spice cake. The pineapple gives it a tropical flavor. It is so tasty and it is ready in 45 minutes

Nice as a dessert or picnic treat, it is a great way to celebrate the warmer seasons.

This beautiful cake is also nice for potlucks, picnics, tea parties and special occasions.

Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (2)

It moist cake also makes a nice birthday cake. Pair this cake with this tangy Orange Chiffon Recipe or this delicious Carrot Cake recipe for a beautiful tea time or dessert table spread.

Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (3)

Ingredients For Classic Hummingbird Cake

Cake

  • flour - I use all purpose flour
  • sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla
  • baking soda
  • crushed pineapple
  • pecans (optional)

Frosting

  • powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
  • cream cheese
  • butter - at room temperature
  • vanilla
  • pecans

Equipment and Kitchen Tools Needed

  • large bowl
  • electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
  • 2 9-inch cake pans
  • spoon
  • parchment paper
  • wire racks
  • serving plate

How to Make A Hummingbird Cake

Step By Step Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prep two 9” round cake pans by spraying with non stick cooking spray and dusting lightly with flour.
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, add dry ingredients: (flour, sugar, baking soda)and blend until well combined.
  4. Whisk in wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla, crushed pineapple and pecans) until mixed completely.
  5. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans, bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature before frosting.
Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (4)

How To Make Hummingbird Cake Frosting

  1. Blend cream cheese and butter on high speed until it begins to thicken. Reduce the speed and add in the powdered sugar and vanilla, blend well.
  2. Once cakes have completely cooled, add frosting between the top and bottom layers and then frost the entire cake with remaining frosting.
  3. Sprinkle crushed pecans over entire cake, pressing some of the pecans gently along side of the cake to until completely covered.
Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (5)

Pro Tips and Timesaver Shortcuts

  • I like to crush the pecans the day before for easy prep.
  • After cooling cake in the pans for 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and let continue to cool on a wire rack.
  • You can make this cake in a bundt pan instead of two round cake pans but baking time will increase to around an hour. Check with a toothpick for doneness.
Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (6)

Serving and Storage Suggestions

  • Add a few pecan halves to decorate the top of the cake.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Recipe FAQs

Can Hummingbird Cake Be Frozen?

Yes. you can freeze the cake in sections or in slices. Place in ziploc bags in the freezer for up to one month.

Why do they call it a hummingbird cake?

There are a few theories on this. The first is that it was called the Doctor bird cake, a nickname for a Jamaican variety of hummingbird called the Red-billed Streamertail. The Hummingbird is the Jamaican National Bird. Another theory is that people hover around the cake like hummingbirds hover around flowers.

Why do they call it a hummingbird cake?

There are a few theories on this. The first is that it was called the Doctor bird cake, a nickname for a Jamaican variety of hummingbird called the Red-billed Streamertail. The Hummingbird is the Jamaican National Bird. Another theory is that people hover around the cake like hummingbirds hover around flowers.

Don't forget to bookmark this recipe.

Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (7)

More Easy Dessert Cakes

  • Chocolate Mint Cake
  • Lemon Jello Cake
  • Neapolitan Cake Recipe
  • Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake Recipe | Copycat Recipe

My Best Cake Recipes

Mango Coconut Cake - A Refreshing coconut cake that is perfect for summer.

Baked Banana Pudding– A wonderful dessert recipe for banana lovers -creamy and easy!

Tres Leches Cake - this Mexican-inspired cake is made with three types of milk - delicious!

Coca Cola Cake - My favorite version of this decadent chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. SO COOD!

Texas Sheet Cake - Another one of those delicious and moist chocolatey cakes!

Sour Cream Pound Cake - Just 7 ingredients for this delicious pound cake!

Cookie Cake - A giant cookie cake to be shared!

Old Fashioned Orange Cake - A delicious orange chiffon style cake.

Neapolitan Cake - beautiful multi-colored cake.

📖 Recipe

Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (12)

Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe

Raquel Pineira

This easy Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake recipe is a wonderful southern classic made with pineapple, pecans and cream cheese frosting.

5 from 30 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 361 kcal

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
  • ½ cup crushed pecans optional

Frosting

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ½ cups crushed pecans to coat the cake

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep two 9” round cake pans by spraying with non stick cooking spray and dusting lightly with flour.

  • In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, sugar, baking soda and blend on low speed until well combined.

  • Blend in eggs, vanilla, crushed pineapple and pecans (optional) into the flour mixture until mixed completely.

  • Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared pans,

  • Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature before frosting.

Frosting

  • Blend cream cheese and butter on high speed until it begins to thicken. Reduce the speed and add in the powdered sugar and vanilla, blend well.

  • Once cakes have completely cooled, add frosting between the top and bottom cake layers and then frost the entire cake with remaining frosting.

  • Sprinkle crushed pecans over entire cake, pressing some of the pecans gently along side of the cake to until completely covered.

Notes

  • I like to crush the pecans the day before for easy prep.
  • After cooling cake in the pans for 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and let continue to cool on a wire rack.
  • You can make this cake in a bundt pan instead of two round cake pans but baking time will increase to around an hour. Check with a toothpick for doneness.

Nutrition

Calories: 361kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 4gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 163mgPotassium: 59mgFiber: 1gSugar: 54gVitamin A: 293IUCalcium: 26mgIron: 1mg

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About Raquel

Southern California mom who blogs about time-saving recipes, entertaining and party ideas.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tamara Bowman

    I LOVE a good hummingbird cake. All that pineapple goodness. What an awesome looking cake.

    Reply

  2. clearissa

    Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (13)
    You had me at pecans. 🙂 This cake looks so moist. And it's not overly difficult to make. This is a winner. Thank you for sharing at #omhgww. Pinned and tweeted if buttons are available. See you next week.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my hummingbird cake dry? ›

Your hummingbird cake can be dry due to common mistakes, such as draining your crushed pineapples. Don't drain your crushed pineapple before adding it to the recipe; make sure you're using it along with its juice, which imparts not only tons of flavor, but exquisite moistness, too.

Why is my hummingbird cake crumbly? ›

Using too much flour is a surefire way to end up with dry, crumbly hummingbird cake. The best and most accurate way to measure flour is to weigh it with a kitchen scale. If you don't have one, fluff up the flour in its container and spoon it into your measuring cup, using a knife to level off the top.

What is hummingbird cake made of? ›

If you're not familiar, hummingbird cake is a spiced pineapple-banana cake topped with cream cheese frosting and pecans. Maybe it's the pecans that lure me in, or the way the taste fools me into thinking I might just be eating a fancy piece of banana bread with a little cream cheese. Good for you, right?

What is the history of the hummingbird cake? ›

Before it became a Southern classic, it was a celebration of Caribbean flavors, used by a tourism board to entice travelers to Jamaica.

Why is my cake not moist enough? ›

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature. Once you understand which common cake-baking blunders to avoid, you'll know how to bake a moist cake every time.

How do I make my cake more moist? ›

Seven Bakery Secrets to Incredibly Moist Cakes Every Time
  1. Use Buttermilk Instead of Milk.
  2. Add Vegetable Oil.
  3. Use Instant Clearjel or Instant Pudding Mix.
  4. Use the Right Recipe.
  5. Don't Overbake.
  6. Bake in Sheet Pans Instead of individual Cake Pans.
  7. Use a Simple Syrup or Glaze.
Apr 23, 2021

How do you fix a dry crumbly cake? ›

The 4 Best Ways to Fix a Dry Cake
  1. Brush the cake with a simple syrup glaze.
  2. Soak your cake in milk or cream.
  3. Add frosting.
  4. Fill your cake with mousse or jam.
May 14, 2023

How do you rescue a crumbly cake? ›

If your cake is dry, there are a few things you can do to fix it. One option is to add a wet ingredient, like water, milk, or fruit juice. You can also try heating the cake in the oven for a few minutes. If your cake is really dry, you may need to add some oil or melted butter as well.

What causes a cake to be dry and crumbly? ›

If you have too much flour in a recipe and not enough fat, like butter or oil, your cake is going to be dry and hard. For best results, I would encourage you to use a scale when baking, but if you don't have a scale, then just make sure you're using measuring cups correctly.

What is Elvis Presley cake? ›

An Elvis Presley cake is a single-layer classic yellow cake that's topped with a pineapple glaze. Much like a poke cake, the syrup and juices of the pineapple will seep into the cake through fork holes, resulting in a decadent, ultra-moist cake.

What's the difference between carrot cake and hummingbird cake? ›

What Is The Difference Between Carrot Cake And Hummingbird Cake? Hummingbird Cake is lighter than carrot cake, almost crumbly but still moist and with the flavor of banana. It has a cream cheese frosting then topped with pecans which is the perfect complement to the banana and pineapple flavors in the cake.

What does a hummingbird cake taste like? ›

What does hummingbird cake taste like? Hummingbird cake tastes like the best banana bread ever, crossed with a carrot cake that some absent-minded baker forgot to bake with the carrots and raisins.

What is another name for hummingbird cake? ›

Originally, it was called the “Doctor bird cake”, a nickname for a Jamaican variety of hummingbird called the Red-billed Streamertail. The name came from the way the bird's long beak probes flowers, like a doctor inspecting a patient.

What is the oldest cake in the world? ›

The Egyptians gave us the world's oldest known cake–and also the world's oldest Tupperware as it happens. During the reign of Pepi II from BCE 2251 to 2157, bakers mixed up a wheat dough for flatbread and filled it with honey and milk. The dough was poured into two pre-heated copper molds that fit tightly together.

What is the rarest cake in the world? ›

The "Diamond Cake" by Debbie Wingham - Price: $75 million

An amalgamation of luxury and confectionary art, it's embedded with more than 4000 diamonds, including pink, yellow, and white ones, making it not just a cake but a jewelled masterpiece. It's no wonder it holds the crown for the most expensive cake in the world!

How do I stop my cake from being dry? ›

Using an air-tight container is the best and easiest way to keep your cake from getting exposed to air. However, if you don't have one of those, you can wrap your cake in cling film, or if it's iced, place a large inverted bowl over it to trap the air.

What is the cause of cake being dry? ›

5 Reasons Your Cakes Are Dry
  • 1 – Using a different sized cake pan. ...
  • 2 – Using a pan that is a different material or colour to the one used in the original recipe. ...
  • 3 – Incorrect measurements were used. ...
  • 4 – Oven temperature is too high. ...
  • 5 – Inappropriate substitutions or reductions were made.
Jan 31, 2024

How do you fix a dry honey cake? ›

Here are five tips for how to moisten a dry cake once it's already been baked.
  1. Brush with simple syrup glaze. Velez recommends adding a simple syrup glaze to your cake layers if they end up coming out too dry. ...
  2. Soak your cake in milk. ...
  3. Fill the cake with mousse or jam. ...
  4. Frost the cake. ...
  5. Stick it in the fridge.
Apr 27, 2021

How do you moisten a dry Christmas cake? ›

Applying simple syrup to cakes
  1. Brushing: Brush the syrup onto each layer of your cake.
  2. Poking Holes: Use a fork or toothpick to poke holes in the cake, then pour the syrup over the top.
  3. Dampening Layers: A mixture of milk and vanilla extract can also moisten each layer.
Dec 13, 2023

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