Moist hummingbird cake that’s full of flavor from banana, pineapple & pecans and layered with cream cheese frosting & a brown sugar caramel sauce.
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mini hummingbird cake
Hello hello! Today I have the perfect banana cake for you – this mini hummingbird cake. If you’re unfamiliar with hummingbird cake, it’s a banana cake that’s filled with pineapple and pecans and paired with a cream cheese frosting. It originates from Jamaica, where it’s called Doctor Bird Cake after their national bird, which is a type of hummingbird. It’s truly so delicious and flavorful on it’s own, but I opted to layer it with a brown sugar caramel sauce which I think takes it to the next level. So if you’ve got some brown bananas on your counter, this is a super delicious way to use them up.
The only thing special you’ll need is a 7″ springform pan – you can find the one I used here. But other than that, this cake is super easy to make. So let’s get into it! ☺︎
why you’ll love this hummingbird cake
- It’s super flavorful: you’ve got banana, pineapple, pecan & caramel flavors all shining throughout this cake.
- It’s super moist: the combination of banana & pineapple make this cake super moist.
- Brown sugar caramel sauce: it’s like regular caramel sauce, but more flavorful and delicious.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Be careful when mixing the cake batter:
When you over-mix your batter, you create more gluten in the batter which will make your cake go from light and moist to dense and chewy. When you mix in the wet ingredients, be sure to only mix just until that last streak of flour disappears.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cake while it bakes:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cake around 45 minutes.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for hummingbird cake
hummingbird cake:
- Banana: you will need very ripe bananas for this recipe. Bananas that are still very yellow/green will be less sweet and add way less moisture to the cake.
- Vegetable oil: tenderizes the cake and helps it stay moist after baking. You could sub in any neutral oil here, such as canola oil.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetening, flavor, and for moisture.
- Egg: for moisture, structure, and binding the batter together.
- Vanilla: for flavor – vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract will work here.
- Crushed pineapple: you’ll want canned crushed pineapple here – don’t drain out the juice!
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Baking powder & baking soda: for helping the cake rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cake.
- Ground cinnamon: for flavor.
- Pecans: for flavor, texture, and structure. We’ll blend up some of the pecans to make pecan flour.
brown sugar caramel sauce:
- Light brown sugar: the base of the caramel
- Unsalted butter: helps make the caramel smooth and velvety. You can swap in salted butter for unsalted if that is what you have on hand, just be careful when adding additional salt. I would recommend adding in the extra salt 1/4 tsp. at a time and tasting to make sure it does not end up too salty.
- Heavy whipping cream: helps smooth out the caramel and make it pourable.
- Salt: the perfect balance to the sweetness of the caramel. I used just regular table salt, but if you want to use sea salt or flaky sea salt you should double the amount.
cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese: the base of any good cream cheese frosting.
- Unsalted butter: for thickening up the cream cheese frosting. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt!
- Salt: to bring out the sweetness & flavor of the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: for sweetening and thickening up the cream cheese frosting.
- Vanilla: for flavor – vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract will work here.
how to make hummingbird cake
Below are some images of what the cake looks like at various points of the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- Mash the banana.
- Then whisk together all of the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Mix in the dry ingredients, then bake the cake.
- Make the brown sugar caramel and cream cheese frosting.
- Cut the cake in half once it has cooled.
- Layer the cake with cream cheese frosting & brown sugar caramel sauce & enjoy!
hummingbird cake recipe q&a
Help! My cake is dry / over-baked
If your cake turned out a tad dry, you can brush some milk on to the layers to help make it a bit more moist again.
Can I bake this cake in a different sized pan?
You could bake this in a 8″ springform. Just note that the cake and cream layer will be a tad thinner.
can I make this cake ahead of time?
Definitely! You can bake the cake a day in advance and keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also make the brown sugar caramel sauce and keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week before assembling the cake. I’d recommend waiting to assemble the cake until you want to serve it, to avoid needing to keep it all in the fridge, where the cake will dry out faster.
how to store hummingbird cake
Once you fill the cake, you’ll want to keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep well for about 3 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Hummingbird Cake
Ingredients
Hummingbird Cake
- 120 g banana (½ c.)
- 125 g light brown sugar (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 85 g vegetable oil (¼ c. + 3 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 75 g crushed pineapple in juice (2 ⅔ oz.)
- 120 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
- ¾ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 85 g pecan flour* (¾ c.)
- 56 g chopped pecans (½ c.)
Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
- 100 g light brown sugar (½ c.)
- 28 g unsalted butter room temperature (2 tbsp.)
- 65 g heavy whipping cream room temperature (2 ½ oz.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 226 g cream cheese room temperature (1 c.)
- 100 g unsalted butter room temperature (7 tbsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 330 g powdered sugar (2 ¾ c.)
- 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Hummingbird Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter a 7" springform pan and line it with parchment paper on the bottom and sides.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mash the banana until it's completely smooth. Then, add in the sugar, oil, egg, vanilla, and crushed pineapple (with the juice!) Whisk until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pecan flour. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until only a few streaks of flour remain. Then, add in the chopped pecans and mix just until the last streak of flour dissapears.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
- In the meantime, make the brown sugar caramel sauce. Add the sugar to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar begins to melt, then stir constantly until the sugar has completely melted.
- Add in the butter and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and slowly whisk in the heavy cream until it's completely incorporated into the caramel. Then, whisk in the salt.
- Transfer the caramel to a heat-safe container and set it in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the cake.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- (Save this step for when the cake has cooled and you're ready to assemble it.) In a large mixing bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Then, beat in the rest of the powdered sugar along with the vanilla. Continue beating the mixture for an additional 2 minutes.
Assembly
- Once the cake has fully cooled to room temperature, cut it in half horizontally.
- Set the bottom half of the cake back into the springform pan and evenly spread ½ of the cream cheese frosting over it. Then, top the cream cheese with ~⅔ of the brown sugar caramel sauce.
- Place the top half of the cake on top, then remove the cake from the springform pan. Top the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting (I used a large round tip to pipe the frosting on top) and with the remaining brown sugar caramel sauce. I also topped mine with a couple pineapple flowers. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Would I be able to substitute the pecan flour with just regular flour?
Hi Jenn, I wouldn’t recommend doing that as subbing in regular flour will dry out the cake. You could use walnut, hazelnut, or pistachio flour in it’s place if you’re not a fan of pecans!
Hi! I really want to make this recipe this weekend but I only have a 9 inch springform pan. Do you know how i could adjust/increase this recipe for a 9 inch? I’m assuming I’ll have to increase all of the ingredients and probably the baking time as well? Thanks in advance!
Hi! The best way to do it would be to double all of the ingredients, fill up the pan ~1/2 of the way and then use the extra batter for some cupcakes on the side. I’m unsure of the baking time as I haven’t tested it but I would start checking on it around 40 minutes. I hope you enjoy!
Update: I made this and it was STELLAR. Easily one of my favorite cakes I’ve ever made! Since I only have a 9 inch springform pan, I did exactly as Erin suggested: I doubled the recipe and used the leftover batter to make about half a dozen cupcakes. (I had a decent amount of cream cheese frosting left over, so will maybe cut that down in the future.) The cake itself earned rave reviews from my friends, who all agreed the homemade caramel is what really took it over the top. This cake was excellent served chilled, and I’m already dreaming about making it again!!