Hummingbird cake is an old-fashioned cake that's flavored with banana, pineapple, coconut, and pecans. This moist cake is a great way to use up ripe bananas.
To make the cake, preheat oven to 350 F. Generously grease and flour the bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans; set pans aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using an electric mixer (either hand or stand), beat the sugars and eggs together in a separate large mixing bowl until well-combined.
Add the crushed pineapples with juice, bananas, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla; mix until combined.
Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until evenly combined.
Stir in chopped pecans and coconut just until incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly between the 3 prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops as needed.
Bake cakes for about 20-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Remove cakes to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature.
To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together until well-combined.
Add in 4 cups of powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 4 tablespoons of heavy cream; mix in until well-combined.
Continue adding ½ cup of powdered sugar at a time until the frosting has reached a thick but spreadable consistency. Add in additional heavy cream if needed to reach that consistency.
To assemble, place the bottom layer on the serving platter, and spread about 1 cup of frosting over the bottom layer.
Repeat with the second and third layers, placing the third layer flat side up.
Spread the remaining frosting on the sides of the cake.
Sprinkle the chopped pecans around the outer edge of the top layer in a circle.
Notes
Flour: It's important to properly measure the flour. Either weigh the flour or sift/stir it to break it up. Lightly spoon it into a measuring cup and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you dry or heavy cake.
Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
Oil: Feel free to use another neutral oil like canola oil or olive oil.
Buttermilk: I recommend using full-fat buttermilk because the fat helps to make the cake moister.
Pecans: You can omit the pecans if needed.
Coconut: If you'd like to use unsweetened shredded coconut, you can.