Hummingbird Cake
This hummingbird cake is soft, moist, and full of pineapple, banana, and nuts. It’s a Southern classic topped with cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans.
You may also love my carrot cake and Irish apple cake recipes.
Why You’ll Love It
I love making hummingbird cake as a sheet cake instead of stacking it in layers. The 9×13 pan bakes evenly, slices like a dream, and keeps the cake super moist every time.
This cake is packed with ripe bananas, crushed pineapple, and pecans, and lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Once it’s cooled, I add the silkiest cream cheese frosting with a sprinkle of chopped pecans. It’s so, so good!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
For the Cake:
- Flour and sugar: all-purpose flour with granulated sugar for structure and sweetness.
- Baking soda, salt, and warm spices: needed for flavor, balance, and lift.
- Eggs: room temperature for structure.
- Butter and oil: butter for flavor, oil for moisture.
- Vanilla: adds depth.
- Pineapple and bananas: for sweetness and texture.
- Pecans: for crunch.
For the Frosting:
- Cream cheese and butter: softened, for a smooth base.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Powdered sugar: sweetens and thickens.
- Pecans: optional topping.
How to Make a Hummingbird Sheet Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9×13-inch pan.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, oil, and vanilla. Stir until the batter just comes together.
Fold in the pineapple, mashed bananas, and pecans. Don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. A toothpick in the center should come out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Add the vanilla, then the powdered sugar a little at a time. Pour in splashes of milk if needed until the frosting is spreadable.
Frost the cooled cake and top with more pecans.
Quick Tip
Don’t over bake the cake. If the cake bakes too long, it can become dry, dense, and have an unappealing texture.
Serving Ideas
My hummingbird cake tastes amazing after some pork tenderloin and roasted potatoes or pineapple pork chops!
How to Store Leftovers
Keep the frosted cake covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze unfrosted cake for up to 2 months.
More Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
- Apple Cider Donut Cake
- Mini Carrot Cakes
- Apple Nut Cake
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake
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What You’ll Need
For the Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple, with juice
- 2 cups ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 to 4 tablespoons milk, optional for thinning out the frosting
- Optional: more chopped pecans for topping
How to Make It
- Preheat your oven to 350°F, and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
To Make the Cake:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.3 cups all-purpose flour2 cups granulated sugar1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon ground cinnamon¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg¼ teaspoon ground allspice½ teaspoon salt
- Add the eggs, melted butter, oil, and vanilla. Stir until mostly combined.3 large eggs½ cup unsalted butter¾ cup vegetable oil1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Fold in the crushed pineapple (with juice), mashed bananas, and pecans until everything is evenly mixed. Don’t overmix.8 ounces crushed pineapple2 cups ripe bananas1 cup chopped pecans
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan before frosting.
To Make the Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.8 ounce block cream cheese½ cup unsalted butter
- Add the vanilla, then gradually beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Pour in splashes of milk, if needed, to thin out the frosting until it's spreadable.1 teaspoon vanilla extract3 to 3 ½ cups powdered sugar2 to 4 tablespoons milk
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Sprinkle extra pecans if using.
Suggested Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Meet Kim
Hi, I’m Kim Vargo! I love making scratch-made desserts and classic dinners that bring back a little nostalgia. Whether it’s a stovetop meal or a simple pasta bake, I’m all about good food made without the extra fuss.
Practice run for my husbands Celebration of Life scheduled in April. He loved his humming birds and hummingbirds were decided to be the theme. Glad I came across your recipe. Why not serve hummingbird cake (cupcskes)? Very happy with the test. Loved how moist it was. Each flavor carries their own taste in each bite. Neighbors love being my test kitchen. 😊
Thank you so much for sharing, Cheryl! Kim and I are thrilled everyone enjoyed the cupcakes. Have a lovely day 🙂