Wendy's Kitchen Table

When my son was 2 years old I use to lead aplaygroup in the Knox area. Monique one of the gorgeous mums brought this cake along to playgroup for morning tea. It was so moist and delicious. 

Hummingbird cake is a moist tropical banana pineapple spice cake from the state of Hawaii. Ingredients include flour, sugar, ripe banana, pineapple, cinnamon, and eggs. It is served with a cream cheese frosting.

INGREDIENTS
450g crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup plain flour
½ cup self-raising flour
½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup coconut
1 cup mashed banana
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup pineapple juice

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
250g cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon rind
toasted shredded coconut or nuts to garnish

METHOD
Preheat oven to 180˚C/160˚C fan-force. Grease and line a round 23 cm Springform pan.
Drain pineapple over medium bowl, pressing with a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Reserve ¼ cup of juice.
Sift flours, soda, spices and sugar into a large bowl. Stir in reserved pineapple juice, crushed pineapple, coconut, banana, egg and oil. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake cake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely. Then spread with cream cheese frosting and decorate with nuts (walnuts, pecans) or toasted coconut.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Beat cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon rind in a small bowl with an electric mixer. Spread over cooled cake.

TO TOAST COCONUT
Place desired amount of coconut flakes in a frying pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the flakes are mostly golden brown.