Hummingbird Cake (Vegan)
Ring in spring with a delicious homemade hummingbird cake. This cake is sweet and moist with fruity flavors that get everyone excited for the warmer weather coming our way. It’s perfect for sharing or entertaining at any picnic or backdoor patio. On top of that, it just happens to be vegan so everyone can enjoy a slice of this scrumptious cake.
This cake is vegan and doesn’t call for many special ingredients. If you’re gluten-free, you can substitute the flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. Additionally, if you have an allergy to walnuts or coconuts, these ingredients are easy to leave out. Omitting the pineapple and banana from this recipe will drastically change it’s flavor, so I don’t recommend removing these ingredients. If you’d like to boost the sweetness and fruity flavor of this cake, you can use applesauce instead of oil. However, the oil adds a richness to the cake and helps it bake more evenly. This cake is very moist and if you use applesauce, you may need to give the cake an extra 10 to 20 minutes to bake depending on the depth of your pan. To keep it from burning on top, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the cake after the standard baking time.
When baking this cake, you can use several different kinds of pans. I used a loaf pan for this recipe, but a round cake pan will work wonders as well. The batter makes enough to fit into two 6 inch cake pans, one 8 inch cake pan or a standard loaf pan. I recommend using a pan that is shallow when baking this cake. This cake is very moist and it will not bake evenly in a deep pan.
For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1 cup brown sugar (¾ Cup if your bananas are extremely ripe)
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas or 3 small bananas)
½ cup crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks
¼ cup pineapple juice
1 T vanilla extract
¼ cup neutral oil (or applesauce)
2 T apple cider vinegar
Optional:
⅓ Cup coarsely chopped pecans
⅓ Cup shredded coconut
For the frosting:
½ cup vegan cream cheese (vegan butter or vegetable shortening)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 T vanilla extract
2 T dairy-free milk
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375° and prepare a large loaf pan or another dish by greasing it with oil, vegan butter or lining it with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Mix them to combine.
Peel your bananas. Add them to a medium sized bowl and mash them until there are no lumps.
Add your sugar, pineapple juice, oil and vanilla into the medium bowl and mix until combined.
Add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients.
Add your pecans and shredded coconut. Mix until combined. Be careful not to overmix and stop when the dough no longer has dry spots of flour visible.
Transfer the dough into your prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a fork inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Depending on the thickness of your pan, your cake may need longer. Shallower pans may only need 25 minutes while thicker pans may need up to 40 to 45 minutes.
When your cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 1 to 2 hours before icing it.
While you wait for the cake to cool, you can make your frosting.
In a large bowl, add your vegan cream cheese. You can also use vegan butter or vegetable shortening in this recipe.
Add your vanilla extract and dairy-free milk to the bowl.
With a hand mixer, mix the ingredients until they are combined.
Add your powdered sugar in batches and mix using the hand mixer on medium speed. This will ensure that you don’t throw a cloud of powdered sugar back onto yourself while mixing.
After all the sugar is incorporated, mix the frosting on high speed until it becomes smooth and fluffy, which may take about 2 to 3 minutes.
Place your frosting on your cooled cake however you’d like. You can use a piping bag, a knife or a spoon to decorate it.
Enjoy!
