Hummingbird Cake
Bananas have to be my least favourite food & I delayed making a gluten free banana cake for a long time. I really loathe bananas, really, really. Having said that making a cake containing banana will mean that I will get the rest of the members of the family to taste it & I won't have to taste it (& after the Easter I've just had that is a very good thing).
This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour.
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
250 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour Gluten free flour
~1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Bicarb of soda
1 - 2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp All spice
100 g Caster sugar
135 g Brown sugar
200 g Walnuts/Pecans - 100 g for decoration
Wet ingredients
2 Eggs
1 440 g tin Crushed pineapple
160 g Oil (I use ricebran oil)
2 tsp Vanilla
200 g Ripe bananas (~3 medium)
Walnuts/Pecans - I roasted my walnuts with 40 g Maple syrup at 120 C for 30 mins prior to using them in the cake & as decoration.
Bananas - Apparently the cake has a more pronounced banana flavour when ripe bananas are used. The cake is slightly sweeter when frozen bananas are used, once thawed they are easier to mush.
Cream Cheese Icing
500 g Cream cheese (softened)
125 g Butter (softened)
375 g Icing sugar
Vanilla to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 175 C (fan forced).
Grease and line the bottom of 2 x 20 cm round tins.
Mix together the dry ingredients, including 100 g roughly chopped walnuts.
Mush the bananas in another bowl & add in the remaining wet ingredients. Mix together the wet ingredients.
Add half the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients & mix until just combined. Mix in the remaining wet ingredients.
Divide cake batter equally between the tins & put them in the oven.
Bake for ~30 mins. The time will depend on your oven.
Bring out of the oven & allow to cool slightly before turning the cake out of the pan. Let cakes completely cool before putting on the icing.
Icing
Are you in a hurry? If so put the ingredients in a food processor & blend into the icing is smooth.
Do you want a thinner icing? Combine the cream cheese & icing sugar together. Melt the butter in the microwave & add to the cream cheese/icing. Combine until the icing is smooth.
Alternatively cream together the cream cheese & butter. Add in approximately 1/3 of the icing sugar. Mix until the sugar is incorporated. Repeat until all icing sugar is incorporated.
Assembling the cake
Transfer one of the cakes to a serving plate and top with ~1/3 of the icing. Gently place the remaining cake on top. Cover the top & sides with the remaining icing.
Decorate the top of the cake with the remaining roughly chopped walnuts.
Simply enjoy!