Ah, Hummingbird Cake. The quintessential Southern dessert. You knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d make one - I don’t think my blog could be complete without it. Hummingbird Cake is a 3 layer cinnamon cake with bananas, pineapple, and pecans, topped with a heavy dose of cream cheese frosting and a sprinkling of pecans on top. It is rich and heavy - absolutely heavenly.

Now, this particular recipe actually hails from Turner’s Corner Cafe in Dahlonega, Georgia. My parents used to own the cafe, so I inherited all of the recipes. And thank my lucky stars! I’ll be posting a few goodies from this gem of a pit-stop in the North Georgia Mountains over time, so stay tuned.

Now before any of you start planning a road trip to visit yourself, I have to tell you that, sadly, the cafe is closed (at least for now). After a successful tenure with my parents and the preceding owners, the 2 succeeding owners both completely revamped the menu, upped the prices, and renovated the charm right out of the 1928 building. The first set of owners made it about 8 weeks before closing. The second set made it almost 6 months. People, don’t mess with a good thing!

As I was sitting down to write this post, I got to wondering about the history of Hummingbird Cake and found out that there’s  evidence that the cake may have actually migrated to the South from Jamaica. The first published Hummingbird Cake recipe was in the February 1978 issue of Southern Living magazine and was submitted by a woman named Mrs. L.H. Wiggins. Turns out, the recipe that Turner’s Corner Cafe was known for is the exact same recipe that Mrs. Wiggins published in the 1978 Southern Living issue. Go figure.

I actually made this cake for a co-worker’s birthday (happy birthday Mary Ann!). I was just about to start the frosting and realized that all of my cream cheese was in the freezer. I tried on two different attempts to soften it in the microwave, but just ended up turning both blocks into cream cheese mush. My wonderful Hubby volunteered to go to the store at almost 10pm to pick up a fresh, unfrozen block of cream cheese. Thank you Hubby! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the 2 bowls of cream cheese mush I have in the fridge.

No birds were harmed in the making of this cake.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

From Turner’s Corner Cafe, Dahlonega, GA

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups oil
8-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas
Cream Cheese Frosting (below)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Note: this is a “by hand” recipe! Leave the mixer in the cabinet.

Add eggs and oil, stirring till dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not beat! Stir in vanilla, pecans, pineapple, and bananas.

Spoon into 3 well greased and floured 9-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:
Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with 1 cup chopped pecans.