Name: Hummingbird Cake with Banana, Pineapple and Pecans
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American (Southern)
Ingredients: 125 g plain flour; 130 g sugar; 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (level); 0.5 tsp salt (level); 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 egg, large; 80 ml vegetable oil; 0.5 tsp vanilla extract; 75 g crushed pineapple with juice (from a can); 100 g ripe banana, mashed (about 1 banana); 35 g pecans, chopped; 75 g cream cheese, at room temperature; 40 g butter, softened; 150 g icing sugar, sifted; 0.25 tsp vanilla extract; 20 g pecans, chopped (for sprinkling); butter and flour for the tin

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a 20 to 23 cm springform tin and dust it with flour.
Mix the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the egg and oil and stir only until everything dry is moistened; do not beat.
Stir in the vanilla, pineapple with its juice, pecans and banana, then pour the batter into the tin.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth, gradually work in the icing sugar on low speed until the cream is pale and fluffy, and stir in the vanilla.
Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cooled cake, sprinkle with chopped pecans and chill until serving.

Drink with it

Spiced rum · excellent match
Spiced rum, neat or over one large ice cube
The cinnamon, clove and vanilla in the rum pick up the spices in the batter, and its sweetness stands level with the frosting instead of making the pairing taste sour.
What is spiced rum? Pay attention to the legal designation
Aged rum · excellent match
Aged Jamaican rum, neat or with a splash of water
Jamaican rum naturally smells of ripe banana and pineapple; these fruit esters and the caramel and nut notes from the cask hit exactly the ingredients of the cake.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Sweet wine · good match
Tokaji Aszú or Riesling Auslese
The wine must be at least as sweet as the frosting; the acidity of the Tokaji holds up against the cream cheese, and its apricot and pineapple notes echo the fruit in the batter.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Fortified wine · good match
Malmsey Madeira
Caramel, roasted nuts and high acidity combine with the pecans and cut through the rich frosting.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage

Why it pairs well

Rum instead of coffee or sweet wine: banana, pineapple and cinnamon are already among the aromas of the rum, so it works like an extension of the cake.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a 20 to 23 cm springform tin and dust it with flour.
Mix the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the egg and oil and stir only until everything dry is moistened; do not beat.
Stir in the vanilla, pineapple with its juice, pecans and banana, then pour the batter into the tin.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth, gradually work in the icing sugar on low speed until the cream is pale and fluffy, and stir in the vanilla.
Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cooled cake, sprinkle with chopped pecans and chill until serving.

Drink with it

Spiced rum · excellent match
Spiced rum, neat or over one large ice cube
The cinnamon, clove and vanilla in the rum pick up the spices in the batter, and its sweetness stands level with the frosting instead of making the pairing taste sour.
What is spiced rum? Pay attention to the legal designation
Aged rum · excellent match
Aged Jamaican rum, neat or with a splash of water
Jamaican rum naturally smells of ripe banana and pineapple; these fruit esters and the caramel and nut notes from the cask hit exactly the ingredients of the cake.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Sweet wine · good match
Tokaji Aszú or Riesling Auslese
The wine must be at least as sweet as the frosting; the acidity of the Tokaji holds up against the cream cheese, and its apricot and pineapple notes echo the fruit in the batter.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Fortified wine · good match
Malmsey Madeira
Caramel, roasted nuts and high acidity combine with the pecans and cut through the rich frosting.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage

Why it pairs well

Rum instead of coffee or sweet wine: banana, pineapple and cinnamon are already among the aromas of the rum, so it works like an extension of the cake.

Hummingbird Cake with Banana, Pineapple and Pecans

Preparation

Drink with it

Spiced rum, neat or over one large ice cube

Aged Jamaican rum, neat or with a splash of water

Tokaji Aszú or Riesling Auslese

Malmsey Madeira

This pairs well too.

Jamaican-Style Banana Fritters

Baba au Rhum

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce (Bratapfel)

Banana Cream Pie

Hummingbird Cake with Banana, Pineapple and Pecans

Preparation

Drink with it

Spiced rum, neat or over one large ice cube

Aged Jamaican rum, neat or with a splash of water

Tokaji Aszú or Riesling Auslese

Malmsey Madeira

This pairs well too.

Jamaican-Style Banana Fritters

Baba au Rhum

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce (Bratapfel)

Banana Cream Pie