When visiting my family a couple weeks ago, we stopped into this little cupcake shop and one of their flavors of the day was hummingbird. I’d never had hummingbird cake before but I knew right away I wanted to make my own version of it and I thought it would be exceptionally pretty as a bundt cake!
I wanted to make it a lighter version because, if you haven’t noticed already, I have been on quite a desserts kick lately. I was still wanting to bake and try my hand at this hummingbird bundt cake but I didn’t want to feel guilty after eating yet another sweet treat.
It came out delicious, and Jeremy couldn’t even tell I made some swaps, shh!
Lightened Hummingbird Bundt Cake
Traditionally, hummingbird cake is a banana pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting and garnished with pecans. The version I made is a little more dense like a bundt cakes normally are and tastes a lot like a really good banana bread.
The cream cheese glaze gives it a touch of added sweetness but not heavy like cream cheese frosting. These flavors seem very southern to me yet I had never had it before, go figure!
My southern Grandmother said she had never had it before either but she loved the flavor combination of the cupcakes we had.
A couple swaps I did to make this hummingbird bundt cake a little lighter was substituting Sugar In The Raw Organic White for regular granulated sugar. I also used cinnamon apple sauce in the cake mix instead of oil and reduced fat cream cheese for the glaze.
The recipe for the hummingbird bundt cake was inspired from MyRecipes.com.
Lightened Hummingbird Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- Cake Mix:
- 3 Cups all purpose flour
- 2 Cups Sugar In The Raw Organic White
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 3/4 Cup bananas mashed (about 4 large bananas)
- 8 oz crushed pineapple do not drain off the juice
- 3/4 Cup apple sauce cinnamon flavor
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 4 oz cream cheese reduced fat, softened
- 2 Cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2 Tbls milk
- 1/2 Cup toasted pecans for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare bundt pan with non stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, add in the flour, Sugar In The Raw Organic White, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Add in the eggs, mashed bananas, pineapple, apple sauce and vanilla. Stir until just moistened and there are no more dry spots. DO NOT over mix, cake will become tough. Spoon mixture into bundt cake pan.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cake is done when a long wooden skewer inserted into thickest part of cake comes out clean. Let cool on wired rack in bundt pan for 10 minutes. Carefully, remove cake from pan and let cool completely on wired rack.
- While the cake is cooling, make the glaze by creaming the cream cheese in a bowl. Add in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time until fully mixed in. Add in the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Spoon over cooled bundt cake and garnish with toasted pecans. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Step by Step Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare bundt pan with non stick baking spray.
In a large bowl, add in the flour, Sugar In The Raw Organic White, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add in the eggs, mashed bananas, pineapple, apple sauce and vanilla. Stir until just moistened and there are no more dry spots. DO NOT over mix, cake will become tough.
Spoon mixture into bundt cake pan.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cake is done when a long wooden skewer inserted into thickest part of cake comes out clean. Let cool on wired rack in bundt pan for 10 minutes. Carefully, remove cake from pan and let cool completely on wired rack.
While the cake is cooling, make the glaze by creaming the cream cheese in a bowl. Add in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time until fully mixed in. Add in the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.
Spoon over cooled bundt cake and garnish with toasted pecans. Serve and enjoy!
This is a very easy recipe. I really love the flavors of the cake and will make you home smell delicious even hours after it’s done baking!
Using the Sugar In The Raw Organic White makes me feel like I made a good swap choice without sacrificing flavor.
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Daphne says
Good Morning Dana, I have just bought a bundt tin, so I was interested to see how you made your Hummingbird cake….. firstly can I say, what a lovely name for a cake and secondly, I love banana, pineapple and cream cheese frosting…. but I am go to resist and make your lighter version.
I look forward to trying it out this coming weekend.
Best Wishes
Daphne
Megan @ Our Pinteresting Family says
This looks so delicious. 🙂
Becky (The Cookie Rookie) says
GORGEOUS cake!! wow!
Bobbi says
Almost too pretty to eat…almost 🙂 Love your version!! I need to lighten up some of my sweets too. Been making too many. Maybe I can trick my fam too 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Pinning it!
Jennifer Dawn says
This looks fantastic! I’d love for you to share this at my weekly link party http://www.thelifeofjenniferdawn.com/2014/09/a-little-bird-told-me-link-party-107.html Hope to see you there!
Allison - Celebrating Sweets says
This looks delicious! Anything with cream cheese frosting makes me happy! 🙂
Tracy @ OurSimpleLifeSC says
I just had hummingbird cake for the first time last week…it was yummy but only could eat a few bites since it was so rich. Yours looks lighter and am anxious to try it. The one I had also had cherries in it, so I bet the recipe changes a from baker to baker. Thanks for the great recipe!
Katherines Corner says
I had never heard of a hummingbird cake until I started blogging. this one looks terrific! Hugs and Thank you for sharing and for linking up to the Thursday Favorite Things Bog Hop.
Shashi at RunninSrilankan(dot)com says
Oooh Hummingbird cake is one of my favs!!! Loving the sound of this lightened up version!!!
YUM!!! I am on drool overload!
Sheila at Longings End says
Hi Dana…the name of this cake intrigued me since we have hummingbirds that flit in and out of the lattice of oak leaves surrounding our second story veranda and sometimes visiting the flowers on our table 🙂 Except I would have to adjust the recipe to make it paleo…maybe almond flour and honey? Thanks for a great idea. Blessings…
Akaleistar says
What a beautiful cake! It looks delicious!
Cheri says
I have a whole “herd” of hummingbirds at my patio spring to Sept…I will try this recipe and enjoy it while watching them!
Krissy Allori {self proclaimed foodie} says
Hi there! I’ll be featuring this as a favorite recipe on our Wednesday Whatsits post today. Thanks for submitting! Be sure to stop by to see it!!! – Krissy
Elizabeth says
This looks so yummy, Dana. Thank you for sharing and thanks for stopping by Let’s Get Real this week!! Be sure to come again!
Kristina and Millie says
oh man this lightened hummingbird bundt cake looks, sounds and i bet taste and smells totally delish!! wow now I know what I want for my birthday cake! Thanks for sharing with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday!!
Karly says
Gorgeous cake! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!