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Hummingbird Cake is about as southern as it gets when it comes to cakes. In fact, this classic cake has been the single most popular recipe in Southern Living Magazine since it was submitted back in 1978. (Let me do the math for you on that...for 40 years!) 

So you would think this girl right here would have tasted this cake a time or two and even attempted baking it at least once by now, right? Nope.

I don't even have a good excuse for not having tried it yet. It could be that my memory just isn't the best...so maybe I actually have tried it in the past and it's just been soooo long ago it just completely slipped my mind?

Umm...yeah...I'm really not buying that excuse because now that I have actually tasted this cake, (as of this weekend), I just cannot imagine it ever "slipping my mind" because it's just really delicious.

Having officially baked it and tasted it now, I've determined the Hummingbird Cake to be the sister-cake to Carrot Cake. The crushed pineapple and bananas in the Hummingbird Cake certainly seem to give a nod to the Spring/Summer season while the shredded carrots in Carrot Cake shake hands with Fall - the peak carrot season. 

So yes...if you love Carrot Cake (imagine me throwing both arms up in the air with an emphatic "yes!" and waving them around like a crazy cake lady) then you will love this cake too! Guaranteed.

Thank goodness my oldest daughter, Clara, came to visit for the weekend.
She had one thing on her mind: baking...with me. (you know that made my mama heart happy).

So that's just what we did too. We baked.

One of the things we made was this cake.

I'd like to say we had things all planned out before Clara even arrived but that would be far from the truth. We simply sat down together once she got here and thumbed through a couple of Southern Living Magazines I'd picked up over the last couple of months: Southern Living Famous Southern Cakes + Pies and the Southern Living Special Collector's Edition Cakes + Pies - apparently I have a thing for cakes + pies. *wink*

The Hummingbird Cake caught our eye and was in BOTH of the magazines. We just couldn't say no.
I didn't have three 8-inch cake pans so we opted to do a smaller 3 layer cake and made cupcakes with the extra batter. (plus she got to take the cake home and the cupcakes stayed here with me - a win for the both of us).

We love how the cake + cupcakes turned out. So moist. So delicious. And did I mention cream cheese frosting? Ummm...hello...my very favorite.

I definitely encourage you to try it. It will not disappoint you or anyone who's lucky enough to sample it. I have an idea!! How about making it for any of those summertime potlucks and gatherings you've got on your calendar. (although be mindful that cream cheese frosting doesn't pair well with sitting outside in the heat - you'll want to make sure you have an air-conditioned space for keeping/serving).

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

by Southern Living Magazine

INGREDIENTS

CAKE LAYERS

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

2 cups chopped ripe bananas (about 6 bananas)

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

vegetable shortening - for pans

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup salted butter or margarine, softened

2 (16oz) pkg. powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

ADDITIONAL/OPTIONAL

12- 24 pecan halves, toasted - for decorating top of cake

1/2 - 3/4 cups chopped pecans, toasted - for decorating sides of cake

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the cake layers: Preheat oven to 350ºF.

    Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring

     just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and toasted pecans.

2. Divide batter evenly among 3 well-greased (with shortening) and floured 9-inch round cake pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. 

    Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely, 

    about 1 hour.

4. Prepare the cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on 

    medium-low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Increase speed to medium-high,

    and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Assemble cake: Place 1 cake layer on a serving platter; spread top with 1 cup of frosting. Top with

    second layer, and spread with 1 cup frosting. top with third layer, and spread remaining frosting over 

    top and sides of cake. Optional decorating: Arrange pecan halves on top of cake. For a more "fancy"

    finish, gently press chopped pecans around the sides of frosted cake using your hand.

Tip: For cupcakes, bake for 18-20 minutes. Once frosted, roll edges in chopped pecans. 

(Thought you might also enjoy this step-by-step video for Southern Living Hummingbird Cake I found while typing up this blog post). 

Enjoy my sweet friends!!
I hope you'll try it and report back.

PS - Let me know if you'd like a cute printable Hummingbird Cake Recipe Card. I'm not really sure if you all prefer just reading the recipe right off the blog or if you love the free recipe cards I've created and shared before? Or maybe you want both? I'd love your feedback.

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL

THREE THINGS...

1. I prefer my cream cheese frosting to be a tad tangier than this version but it's still delicious. (And until I find the recipe I want to share with you this one will have to do). Ha! And by all means, if you already have a fave cream cheese frosting recipe...use it!!

2. Clara and I didn't realize I only had a bag of pecan halves instead of the whole pecans we needed to to decorate the top of the cake. So, we did what any good OCD baker would do and we painstakingly took time to try to match up pecan halves to make them look whole. I think we did a dang good job. I can hardly tell when I look closely at the photos. Ha!!

3. These photos turned out surprisingly well despite the immense pressure I was under to "hurry up". Clara was trying to head back home and she was behind schedule so with each push of the shutter button on my camera and every rearranged shot of the cake I made in an attempt to capture the perfect image,  I could feel her hot eye balls glaring at me while she stood impatiently nearby waiting to drive off with the cake.  Some things never change - she's never been very patient when it came to me + my photo-taking. I still love her though. And besides, this cake wouldn't have happened this weekend without her. Thanks Clara!! *wink*

SUGAR | Our Thanksgiving Pies

I sure hope you all had a "sweet" Thanksgiving.
Yep. Totally being intentional with a corny segway into me sharing the desserts I baked this year.

I invited a cheesecake to my table of pies this year.
Other than that, I stuck with three of my favorites...
In fact, the same exact pies I shared the recipes for last year.

The Only Pumpkin Pie

click HERE for recipe

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

click HERE for recipe

Crumb-topped Apple Pie

click HERE for recipe

Our Family Cheesecake

I apologize in advance for no recipe - my mother has forbidden me for years to share the recipe

which is why this is the only time you've ever seen me mention it on my blog. *eye roll*

I figured the cheesecake deserved four photos since it's never made an appearance on the blog before. *wink*

I sure hope you all enjoyed the time with family and friends as you celebrated Thanksgiving.
It was hard sending Ella back to school today and I'm already counting down the days to Christmas break!!

Love you guys!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
These desserts look almost perfect, don't they!?
Nope....

1. Pumpkin Pie - seemed too sweet to me this year for some reason? Also, the leaves were a tiny bit overdone. Thank goodness golden browns fit right into the Thanksgiving color scheme. Ha!!

2. Crumb-Topped Apple - the best pie on the planet. Again. Forgot to bring the vanilla ice cream though.

3. Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie - seemed exceptionally chocolatey this year? And it was nowhere as pretty as the pie last year. I couldn't add the pretty whipped cream accents with chocolate chips + pecan for the photos since we were traveling. I knew it would look like doo doo train after a 2+ hour drive. So I left it plain. Boo.

4. Cheesecake - doubled the crust this time to accommodate a new pan I was trying out. Mistake. Way too much crust for even this crust lover and was nearly impossible to slice through. AND...the 2 hours and 40 minutes of traveling to even get to Thanksgiving dinner caused it to soften - even though it was on ice. Oh let's be real people!! I also regretfully admit it's the first time I've ever under-baked a cheesecake - which added to it not setting up properly and being too soft by the time we served it. Wah!  Still tasted amazing though. Ha!

HALLOWEEN | Spiders + Spirits Halloween Dessert Table

Remember this Spiders + Spirits themed Halloween party I styled and shared for Tuesday Morning a few years ago? 

Well I got to thinking about the fact that I've never shared all of the photos here on the blog and since it's still one of my very favorite themes for a Halloween party...well...it's just time the details were no longer kept under wraps..."mummy" wraps in this case since it's a Halloween party.  *wink*

Besides, I wanted to make sure you had access to the FREE "Spiders + Spirits" sign and matching food labels in order to make hosting your own party easy peasy lemon squeezy.

And let me just say, I'm not even a drinker and yet these Pumpkin Bourbon Milkshakes slay me. ("slay" is the current trendy term used to imply you are impressed or amused by something - my kids keep me on point folks). 

Links to the FREE "Spiders + Spirits" sign and food labels along with the recipes for the milkshakes and pumpkin bars are all at the bottom of the post!!  

Did you love all of the details?

Sure hope you're feeling inspired to host your own Spiders + Spirits themed party?

Or at least try out the spooktacular recipes for some added Halloween fun! *wink*

xoxo my sweet friends!!

Jessica

LINKS I KNOW YOU'LL WANT:

Pumpkin Bourbon Milkshakes Recipe <-------click

Whiskey Caramel Glazed Pumpkin Bars <----click

Spiders + Spirits Dessert Bar 12x24 Sign  <---click to download

Spiders + Spirits Dessert Bar food labels <----click to download

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Aside from wanting to provide you with the free printables from this party, the main reason I decided to post this on my blog is because the links to the original post on the Tuesday Morning site don't work anymore and although I was able to finally find it, who wants to have to do all of that digging around every time you want to see it again? *hand raised*

STYLING | Vintage Christmas Brunch

Contemplating hosting a Christmas Brunch this year? Maybe this one I styled with some vintage flair for the December issue of Romantic Homes Magazine will inspire you?

Just as I said in the article, "Hosting a Christmas brunch can be as simple as gathering a few friends together for coffee and homemade cinnamon rolls. Or it can also involve planning a special breakfast for your family on Christmas morning. Or choosing a day prior to Christmas to invite family or friends over to feast on the spirit of the upcoming holiday season."

Gather up some of your holiday decor from around the house and pull out some of your pretty cake plates and silver serving trays.

I loved using these vintage salt shakers created by my sweet friend Tammy from Cloth and Patina to label the food items. These were originally designed to be used as place card holders for place settings or even to display photos in your home or office. Isn't this gorgeous?

 

A combination of sweet and savory food items are the perfect combination to satisfy every appetite.
You can create everything from scratch if you are up for the task, do a combination of both homemade + store-bought items or keep it super simple and pick up everything from your local bakery.

I included Quiche Lorraine as part of my brunch food selections using my favorite Quiche Lorraine recipe!  It's absolutely delicious + easy to make.

I also made mini Orange-Cranberry Christmas bread loaves for the place settings and then baked a medium sized loaf as part of the brunch food table.

The beautiful candlesticks, metal envelope place settings and pretty napkin rings are also available from Cloth and Patina!

The large tin rustic bucket was something I purchased from Decor Steals some time back and I just created a beautiful floral centerpiece using an assortment of faux flowers from Hobby Lobby.

TIP: Whenever I create and invest in floral pieces to make arrangements, I always keep the majority of them very neutral, selecting mainly creamy whites and browns or even incorporating some brown twig bundles. This allows me to add bright red berries for Christmas and then pull them out to instead add pops of color for Spring and Summer. The arrangement you see above was part of my Thanksgiving decorations and for this Christmas Brunch, I just added red berries for a festive touch.

Here's another pretty vintage salt shaker food label holder and a close-up shot of the inside of this delicous orange-cranberry bread.

Do you see that gorgeous orange juice decanter?
That was also another treasure from Cloth and Patina!!

I hope you're inspired to do something like this for either family or friends this holiday season.
Below you'll find the links to a couple of recipes as well as resources to some of the beautiful serving and decor items shown in the post.

SPECIAL THANKS
Thank you Tammy for boxing up some of your pretty things to send to me just in time for the photo shoot! It was exactly the inspiration I needed to help pull everything together! Mwah!!

If you haven't checked out the Cloth and Patina shop you are missing out. Tammy's beautiful designs are handmade with a tremendous amount of love and care. She is a very sweet person with a big heart and it shows through in everything she creates!!

MENU

Food
Bagels + Cream Cheese - store-bought
Mini Muffins - store-bought
Cranberry-Orange Christmas Bread - homemade
Quiche Lorraine - homemade

Beverages
Orange Juice
Milk
Citrus-infused water

RESOURCES
Stoneware Pie Plates - holding quiche + bagels
Vintage Shutters for backdrop • The Cozy Nest
Rustic Hanging Metal Door Bucket for floral centerpiece • Decor Steals
Florals • Hobby Lobby
Orange Juice Decanter • Cloth and Patina
Creamy White Metal Cake Stands • Hobby Lobby
Brown Barley Twist cake stand • Southern Living AT HOME
Lighted Christmas tree • Hobby Lobby
Lace used on centerpiece, cake stand + on around mini bread loaves • JoAnn's
Vintage Salt Shakers • Cloth and Patina
Vintage Silver Candlesticks (set of 3) • Cloth and Patina
Glass Candy Dish - holding tub of Cream Cheese • InSpired 365
Large Silver Candlesticks - holding fruit tray on table + carafe of water on food table • InSpired 365
Silver Tray (holding medium cranberry-orange bread loaf) • InSpired 365

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Ella was so confused when I created this Christmas Brunch table in the middle of our dining room - BACK IN AUGUST. And now she's asking if we are doing ANOTHER Christmas brunch - since it's actually Christmas now. *wink*

Also, I had to use dried cranberries for the bread recipe instead of the fresh ones the recipe calls for...because cranberries aren't in season during the Summer. (oh the struggles of a party stylist)! *giggling*

Oh! And all of the baking I did was done in a toaster oven I borrowed from a neighbor - because that's during the time we were still on the hunt for a new range after our house was struck by lightning! You would never know from the photos though...would you?! *wink*

Oh and hey!! Happy Birthday to my little brother today!!