Frugelegance, FrugElegance where frugal and elegance come together.
It has been a pretty cold and (much needed) rainy winter here in the Bay Area. Are you thinking about Spring yet? We are ready for the sun, the warmth, the blooming flowers and trees. March 20th is the official start but we, the FruGirls, are already planning our favorite Spring home decor and recipes.
This is one of our favorite springtime favorite recipes, our Hummingbird Cake recipe. It’s perfect for holidays, special occasions, or any day. We found this recipe a long time ago on Southern Living and we believe it’s the best Hummingbird recipe we have ever tried.
The Frugirls, Carol & Randi
Ingredients for cake batter:
- 1/2 – 1 cup chopped pecans (amount depends on your preference, we love lots of pecans)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1-3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large)
- 1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple (do NOT drain)
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- (Glaze ingredients listed under step #4)
Directions:
Prepare Cake Batter: Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8-10 minutes or until toasted & fragrant, stirring halfway through.- Stir together flour & next 4 ingredients in a large bowl & stir in eggs & next 4 ingredients, stirring until fully moistened. Sprinkle 1 cup toasted pecans into a greased & floured 14-cup Bundt pan & then spoon batter over pecans.
- Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour & 10 mins or until a long wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool cake on a wire rack 15 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely (approx. 2 hours).
Prepare Glaze: Process 4 oz. cream cheese- cubed and softened, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon milk in a food processor until well blended. Add another 1 tablespoon milk, 1 tsp at a time, processing until smooth. Immediately, spoon or glaze over cooled cake, and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup toasted pecans on top. **Please note that when making this, we made 1-1/2 times the frosting. This amount just doesn’t seem enough & we LOVE the frosting glaze! YUM!
The original recipe is made in layers but this time we are making a Bundt style hummingbird cake. We’ve also made hummingbird cupcakes too. To see our layer style Hummingbird Cake, many other favorite recipes and Frugelegant home decor, come on over to www.FrugElegance.com.
Carol and Randi, the FruGirls, are local home decorators and stagers. You can also find them blogging about it plus many other ways to live an elegant life for less.