Submitted by Irene Mangum
From her aunt Barbara Gayden’s recipe, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Imagine Irene Mangum as a little girl on a plantation in early 1950s Louisiana, with pigtails and a fancy holiday dress, twirling underneath a weeping willow tree. Irene eagerly anticipated the arrival of Aunt Barbara, who would bring hummingbird cake on her visits from Texas. The family would congregate for these visits at Aunt Sis’s house (her father’s other sister) at the Fairview Plantation in East Feliciana Parish. Irene waited all year to bite into those moist banana pieces and all the nuts and other surprises inside. When she was growing up, Irene wondered why the pastry was called “hummingbird cake.” By the time she was old enough to ask about the name, it was too late. Aunt Barbara had passed away, leaving behind the mystery.
Irene now serves this divine cake often. Everyone who has the good fortune to enjoy a slice inevitably asks how it got its name. Irene made up the story that “it has everything in it but the hummingbird!” As it turns out, hummingbird cake has deep roots in the South. The first noted publication was in the February 1978 issue of Southern Living magazine. Irene Mangum’s version traces its origin back well over 80 years. Just the name piques your interest, doesn’t it? When we asked Irene to share the recipe, she said, “Why, of course! I can’t take it with me.” Thanks, Irene!
By the time she was old enough to
ask about the name, it was too late.
Aunt Barbara had passed away,
leaving behind the mystery.”
MAKES 1 (9-INCH) ROUND LAYER CAKE
3 cups cake flour (Irene uses Swans Down)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, divided (second cup is optional)
2 cups (about 3 medium) sliced ripe bananas
1 batch Hummingbird Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Fancy holiday dress
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. Place the sugar and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute, until blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on low speed. Ensure that each egg is blended well before adding the next. Add the vanilla and blend. Add the flour mixture, one-half at a time, mixing on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the pineapple, 1 cup of the nuts, and the bananas, and stir with a spatula (do not beat) until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into the pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on top of wire racks for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the cakes out onto the wire racks and let cool completely. While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.
Place one cake layer upside down on a serving platter and spread frosting all around the top and sides. Be generous on top, as this will be a filling layer. Place the middle layer upside down on top of the frosted bottom layer and spread frosting over the top and sides of it, again, being generous with the top/filling layer. Place the third cake right side up on top of the second layer and complete the frosting of the top and sides. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the frosting, if desired.
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 (16-ounce) boxes confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter. Blend on medium speed until smooth. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the confectioners’ sugar a little bit at a time until fully incorporated. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.
sass it up: Add sliced fresh fruit on top. Decorate the sides with chopped pecans or walnuts. We would do so sparsely, but you may use additional chopped nuts if you prefer a more densely populated nut community.
modern variation: Try muffin pans instead of cake pans—the thought of a hummingbird muffin with a dollop of frosting on top makes us say, “Yum!” No one else at the PTA meeting is going to have hummingbird muffins! Just fill 3 dozen standard nonstick or lined muffin cups about two-thirds full of batter (aim to get a banana slice in each one) and bake at 350°F for 18 to 22 minutes, until they spring back when touched in the center.
sugar mommas note: The different textures of this recipe come together like a party in your mouth—sort of like the yin to a carrot cake’s yang. Nuts disturb our cake enjoyment experience, so we leave them out.
