Old-Fashioned Hummingbird Cake
In February 1978, a reader named Mrs L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina sent Southern Living magazine her recipe for a spiced banana and pineapple layer cake. She offered no story and no explanation of the curious name — just the recipe. It went on to become the most-requested recipe in the magazine's history, and it earned that the honest way: bake it once and somebody will ask you for it every year after.
It's a stir-together cake, closer to a muffin batter than a creamed sponge, and there are only two rules. First, use very ripe, black-speckled bananas and tip in the crushed pineapple with every drop of its juice — that's where all the moisture and perfume live. Second, stir with a wooden spoon just until the flour disappears. A mixer — or even an enthusiastic arm — works the gluten and turns this tender, close-crumbed cake heavy.
Because it's made with oil rather than butter, it stays moist for days and is honestly better on day two, once the banana, pineapple and cinnamon have had a night to get acquainted. Toasted pecans in the batter and pressed over the cream cheese frosting finish it the proper Southern way. No mixer, no creaming, no fuss.
Old-Fashioned Hummingbird Cake
The legendary 1978 Southern classic — spiced banana & pineapple layers, toasted pecans and cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 375 g plain flour
- 400 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp salt
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 250 ml sunflower oil and 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 very ripe bananas (≈400 g peeled), mashed
- 225 g crushed pineapple with its juice (do not drain)
- 100 g pecans, toasted and chopped, plus 50 g to decorate
- 150 g butter, softened, for the frosting
- 300 g full-fat cream cheese, cold, for the frosting
- 450 g icing sugar, sifted, and 1 tsp vanilla, for the frosting
Method
- Prep. Oven to 180°C (fan 160°C / gas 4). Grease and line three 20 cm sandwich tins. Toast all the pecans on a tray for 8–10 minutes; cool and chop.
- Dry. In your largest bowl, whisk together the flour, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Stir. Add the beaten eggs, oil and vanilla. Stir with a wooden spoon just until the flour disappears — no mixer, no beating.
- Fruit. Fold in the mashed bananas, the crushed pineapple with all its juice, and 100 g of the pecans. The batter will be thick and lumpy — that's right.
- Bake. Divide between the tins (about 620 g each) and bake 25–30 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the tins, then turn out to cool completely.
- Frost. Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth, then briefly beat in the cold cream cheese. Fill and cover the cold cake; press the remaining pecans over the top.
The sponges are easier to handle and the flavour deeper on day two — granny always baked her layers the day before, wrapped them well once cold, and frosted the cake the next morning.
Tips for the perfect hummingbird cake
Very ripe, very juicy
Black-speckled bananas and undrained crushed pineapple carry all the moisture and perfume — never drain the tin.
Stir, don't beat
This is a muffin-style batter: a wooden spoon and a light hand, just until the flour disappears. No mixer.
Toast the pecans
Ten minutes in the oven wakes up their flavour — raw pecans go quiet inside a moist cake.
Questions, answered
Why is it called hummingbird cake?
The name most likely travelled from Jamaica, where a very similar banana and pineapple cake was called Doctor Bird cake after the island's national bird — a hummingbird. The recipe reached America in the late 1960s, and when Mrs L.H. Wiggins sent her version to Southern Living in 1978 she gave no explanation at all. Most bakers settle for the sweeter story: it's a cake sweet enough to attract hummingbirds, and every bite makes you hum.
Can I make hummingbird cake as cupcakes or a sheet cake?
Yes. This batter makes about 28 cupcakes — fill the cases two-thirds full and bake at 180°C (fan 160°C / gas 4) for 20–22 minutes. For a sheet cake, use a greased and lined 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13 in) tin and bake for 40–45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting either way; the frosting quantity covers both nicely.
Can I freeze hummingbird cake?
Beautifully. Freeze the un-frosted sponges, cooled and wrapped tightly in cling film and foil, for up to 3 months, then thaw at room temperature still wrapped. A frosted cake freezes too: open-freeze until the frosting is firm, wrap, and thaw overnight in the fridge. Because it is an oil cake, the crumb stays moist through freezing.
Why is my hummingbird cake dense or heavy?
Almost always overmixing. The batter should be stirred with a wooden spoon just until no dry flour remains — beating it, especially with an electric mixer, develops gluten and knocks out the rise, giving a heavy, rubbery crumb. It is naturally a moist, close-textured cake, but it should still be tender: check your bicarbonate of soda is fresh, use properly ripe bananas, and never drain the pineapple, which throws the batter out of balance.