Hummingbird Cake A Heavenly Southern Dessert

I remember the first Hummingbird Cake I ever made. I also will never forget the first one I ever tasted.  I lived next door to my mother in law. We had such fun gardening and cooking new recipes.  When our Southern Living Magazine would come we would sit and talk about all of the recipes and then we would cook. We had such fun! She called me over to the house just a short path away.  She showed me the prettiest cake I had ever seen and it was so delicious! We ate, talked and watched her soap opera.."The Days of Our Lives" .  She  did love that show, I personally have always loved "The Young and The Restless"...but to eat that cake was pure delight. This was the very first time that recipe had ever been printed in a magazine. Ms. Genolia is now gone but I have those memories, and I wouldn't take anything for them.

 

The Legend of the Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird cake history

Southern Living magazine generally is credited with the first reference to Hummingbird Cake. It published the recipe in its February 1978 issue, submitted by a Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, N.C. But Mrs. Wiggins did not include an explanation of the cake's unusual name, which remains a mystery however folklore has it that the hummingbird is a symbol of sweetness.
                                                                           Click here to read more............

Here is the 1978 recipe

Printable Recipe 

Mrs. Wiggins' recipe [1978]
"Hummingbird cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups salad oil ****(I did change this to only 1 cup vegetable oil & it works great)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
• 2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, divided
• 2 cups chopped bananas

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; add eggs and salad oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup chopped pecans, and bananas. Spoon batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F. For 25 to 30 minutes; remove from pans, and cool immediately ( I cool mine for 10 minutes in pan then turn out). Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with 1 cup chopped pecans. Yield: one 9-inch layer cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(I cut this recipe in half, if you don't want gobs of icing half works well)

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 (16 ounce) packages powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth.Add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Yield: enough for a 3 layer cake.--Mrs. L.H. Wiggins, Greensboro, North Carolina" ---"Making the most of bananas," Southern Living, February 1978 (p. 206)
PER SERVING: Calories 1,245 (50% fat) Fat 71 g (24 g sat) Cholesterol 130 mg Protein 13 g Sodium 548 mg Fiber 4 g Carbohydrates 149

A Version that I have made less ingredients and very, very good!

Click Here for another Southern Living Version...... 

I would chill this cake because it has a cream cheese frosting.  I hope you enjoy this cake as much as our family has for many years.  

I want to thank Heidi for featuring this recipe on her 

blog White Wolf Summit Farmgirl

she had such wonderful comments.