Hummingbird Cake

 

 

 

This moist and luscious tropical hummingbird cake is a banana-pineapple-spice cake which is filled with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, then topped with crunchy nut brittle. 

Recipe adapted from:  Jamie Oliver's

Ingredients:
200g rice bran oil
350g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/4 tsp salt
200g caster sugar 
350g mashed bananas
260g pineapple, drained and chopped finely 
30g desiccated coconut
3 large free-range eggs 
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g pecans, toasted and chopped coarsely

• Preheat oven to 170 deg C.  Grease and line two 21cm round cake pans.
• Sift flour, ground cinnamon and salt into a large mixing bowl.  Set aside.
• Beat eggs together with sugar until thick and pale.  Gradually beat in oil and vanilla extract. Then stir in mashed bananas, pineapple and desiccated coconut.  Mix until combined and pour into the flour mixture.  Fold until smooth.
• Finally fold in chopped pecans.
• Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until cooked.
• Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them out to cool completely on the wire racks.

Frosting:

400g icing sugar

150g butter, at room temperature

200g cream cheese, at room temperature

zest of 1 lime

juice of 1 lime

• Sift icing sugar into a mixing bowl, add in the butter and beat until pale and creamy.
• Beat in cream cheese, lime zest and lime juice until just smooth (do not over-mix).  Keep refrigerated until needed.

Macadamia brittle:

100g caster sugar

2 tbsp water

50g macadamia

pinch of salt

• Place caster sugar and water in a frying pan over medium heat.
• Swirl the pan occasionally (do not stir it) until sugar dissolved and lightly golden.
• Add in nuts and a pinch of salt, spoon around to coat.  When nicely golden, pour onto a sheet of baking paper to set.
• Once cool, pound the brittle finely using a mortar and pestle.

To assemble the cake:

• Place one sponge on a cake stand and spread with half of the cheese frosting.  Top with the other sponge.  Spread over the rest of the icing. 
• Scatter the brittle over the top.

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