Let Them Eat Cake...

This morning when I went upstairs to wish Henry a good morning the first thing out of his mouth was "Mommy Henny make cake!" How could I refuse such a sweet request? All of my kids love to cook, and even at three Henry is quite a little helper. First we got out my new cookbook which is filled with recipes for making all kinds of yummy baked goods. After checking out several options we finally decided on Hummingbird Cake. Now, I have never made it before , but from what I understand it is a true Southern treat. I had actually never heard of it before a few weeks ago when my dear friend Tiffeni told me about it. Thankfully my baking pantry is filled with all kinds of stuff and we had everything we needed to make it. Henry helped me gather all the ingredients and we got to work. He helped with every step along the way. Measuring, mixing and even putting all the cupcake liners in the pan. Once our cupcakes were in the oven he sat by the oven door watching them bake...waiting anxiously for them to finish. I opted to omit the decadent cream cheese frosting mainly because they were so yummy plain. As much as we all love frosting I thought it would be a bit healthier to leave them alone and they are a huge hit even naked. Here is the recipe we used if anyone wants to give it a try.

Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained

1 cup chopped pecans

2 cups chopped firm ripe banana

Cream Cheese Frosting:

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 pounds confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and salad oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and 1 cup pecans. Stir in the bananas. Spoon the batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Frost the tops of all 3 layers, stack and then frost sides. Sprinkle top evenly with the 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans.