Things that make you go "Hummm...."

A while back I was chatting with my uncle, who mentioned having prepared a delicious Hummingbird cake for a dinner party. I was unfamiliar with the cake, so I asked for the recipe. One glance and I knew that I had to make a cupcake version of it. How could I go wrong with the main ingredients being bananas, pineapple, pecans, and cinnamon?

The outcome was delicious. I pretty much made the recipe as it was given to me, for one batch, then added some coconut to the second batch. They were YUM! These would definitely be a great dessert for a dinner party, as they are a more "adult" cupcake, if that makes sense?!? The frosting is a cream cheese frosting, which you know will make every bite a bit more delicious. Give 'em a whirl...see what you think. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!


Hummingbird Cupcakes
Inspired by a recipe from the kitchen of Uncle Mario

For the cupcake:
3 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 c vegetable oil
2 c sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c pureed ripe bananas
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple, juice removed
1/2 c finely chopped pecans
1/3 c sweetened coconut (optional - but HIGHLY recommended)

For the frosting:
2 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened & cut into small pieces
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened & cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 c confectioners' sugar


For the garnish (optional):
Toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans with liners.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, soda, and salt. Set aside. In your mixer bowl, combine oil and sugar. Beat at medium speed for about 3 minutes until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, until light in color, which will be about 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add bananas and pineapple. Leaving mixer at low speed, add dry ingredients, about 1/3 at a time. Beat only until just combined, then remove from mixer. Stir in your pecans and coconut, if using.
Scoop your batter into your prepared baking cups and bake for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs when inserted. Let cool on rack for about 7 minutes, then remove from pans and cool all the way through.

While cupcakes cool, prepare your frosting. In your mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, then slowly add confectioners' sugar, about 1/2 c at a time. Beat until smooth, then spread or pipe over cupcakes. Garnish with toasted coconut, if desired.

Pineapple Express...

My husband has been bombarded with cupcake ideas for the past couple of weeks. One of the big requests has been for pineapple upside-down cupcakes. I am not a huge fan of having fruit baked into my cake. My mom used to make one of those mandarin orange cakes...you know - the kind where every bite has one of those little mandarin oranges in it...the one that doesn't taste all the way done because it's juicey with mandarin orange juice? Yeah...gross. I think it's the texture that bothers me. The area around the fruit is always a little off for my liking. Perhaps that is why I wasn't 100% on baking these little guys. I was concerned that the texture would be weird. That, and they're pineapple upside-down cupcakes! How am I going to serve these without people being covered with cupcake by the time they are done? Isn't the point of a cupcake the fact that you don't have to use a fork to eat it? Eat an run....eat and run. It should be about ease of consumption, right?

Well, turns out, if your cake is dense enough, it's not overly soppy around the fruit, AND you can eat it with your fingers. SCORE! This is one of my fave's thus far....as well as one of the fave's of my tasters.  I hope that all who attempt the recipe enjoy it as much as we did.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcake
Inspired by America's Test Kitchen - Family Baking Cookbook

For the batter: 
12 tbsp unsalted better, softened
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 lbs peeled & cored fresh pineapple - cut to your liking (I used 1 entire medium sized pineapple)
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 large egg white, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c whole milk, room temperature

For the whipped topping:
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 tbsp butter in butter warmer (or very small saucepan) and melt over low heat. Once melted, turn off heat, but leave on burner. Add brown sugar and stir until incorporated.
Do you have one of those little ice cream scoops - the kind that measure about 1 tbsp of batter? If so, that is perfect! Scoop about 1 tbsp of the brown sugar mixture in each of your ungreased muffin cups. Don't worry - the cupcake will pop out, even though the pan is ungreased. I promise.

Once you've filled your muffin tray, arrange your pineapples how you'd like. Press them down into the brown sugar mixture, and set your pan aside.

In a medium bowl combine your flour, baking powder, and salt. In your mixer bowl, cream granulated sugar and butter together until light & fluffy - about 4 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium and add your eggs and egg whites in, one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

Reduce your mixer speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Add half of the milk, then repeat process, ending with flour. Beat last portion of flour into mixture, but make sure you don't over beat. Just beat until incorporated.

Grab your trusty ice cream scoop and scoop the batter into your muffin cups. Your tins should be 3/4 full. Batter will be very thick, so take a spatula and smooth out the tops.

Bake cupcakes for 17 minutes, or until they bounce back when touched in the center. Let them cool in 10 minutes, no more, no less. Letting them sit in the pan for 10 minutes is just enough time that when you go to remove them from the pan they will come out easily. Once the 10 minutes have passed, put a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper on top of your cupcake pan, then flip it over. Let them chill there for a minute or two. The cupcakes will release on their own - LIKE MAGIC!!

While cupcakes cool on sheet, prep your whipped topping. Add your whipping cream and vanilla to mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip until stiff soft peaks begin to form. With mixer still going, slowly sprinkle confectioners' sugar into whipped mixture. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form, making sure not to over-whip.

Dollup your whipped cream onto cupcake, then top with a cherry. Ta-da! Delicious and beautiful!!