Hummingbird Cake

A hummingbird cake prepared by truck volunteer, Doug, for long-time Vine Hill Towers resident, Milton.

A hummingbird cake prepared by truck volunteer, Doug, for long-time Vine Hill Towers resident, Milton.

There may not be a more beloved dessert here at TNFP than hummingbird cake. This is one of those recipes that just keeps following us through the years, with different hand-written versions tucked away in kitchen drawers -- it has been an undisputed crowd favorite.

It's especially popular at a Friday lunch at Vine Hill Towers, where the note "Please send hummingbird cake!" is relayed to the kitchen almost weekly, a request from the same long-time resident, Milton. Last month, long-time Vine Hill truck volunteer Doug decided to answer by personally preparing and sharing a hummingbird cake for Milton (pictured above) -- just because he knew it was his favorite.

We say a lot that food has the power to bring people together in powerful ways. But sometimes these stories happen in small, ordinary ways that we don't see or hear about. Like this hummingbird cake, shared between friends.

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TNFP Hummingbird Cake

Cake Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup pineapple puree
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple, small diced
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Frosting Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temp
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 4 oz butter, softened
  • 1 tbsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, cream together eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift all dry ingredients together and add to egg and sugar mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Combine all wet ingredients and add to mixture until fully incorporated. Fold in pineapples and pecans, then pour into a paper-lined full sheet tray. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip, then bake for another 15 minutes.

To prepare frosting, cream together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. When cake is baked and cooled, build layers with icing.

A pick-up version of the recipe we love to use for events! Same premise, just cut small circles out of the sheet cake before layering.

A pick-up version of the recipe we love to use for events! Same premise, just cut small circles out of the sheet cake before layering.