Hummingbird Cake

Ok yum! I love banana's and with banana's being $16.99 at the moment it is a rare occasion to bake with them. Fortunately there is a small grocer close to home that had them for $8.99. They were bruised and spotty beyond all recognition which makes perfect for banana baking!

I decided to make a hummingbird cake from of course where else The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook! One of my favourites I think the reason being is all the recipes from there are flawless! So this is without adaption, pretty much. 

Oh by the way, sorry, the pictures aren't fantastic, it was late afternoon and the sun was like blaring through the window and my camera had a nasty red battery flashing at me...

The Hummingbird Bakery Hummingbird Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 300g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 300ml vegetable oil
• 270g peeled bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp of ginger
• 300 plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 100g tinned crushed pineapple
• 100g pecans, chopped, plus extra for decorating

ICING INGREDIENTS

• 600g icing sugar
• 100g dairy soft butter
• 250g cream cheese

METHOD 

• Grease and line 2 8" round spring form cake tins.
• Preheat oven to 170C.

• Beat the caster sugar, eggs, oil, bananas and cinnamon until incorporated.
• Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add this slowly to the wet mixture, followed by the vanilla, and mix until incorporated. 
• Fold in the pineapple and pecans.

• Divide batter between tins and bake for 30-35 minutes.
• Allow to cool before removing from tin.

• Beat the icing sugar and butter until well mixed.
• Add the cream cheese all in one go and beat on high for 5 mins until light and fluffy.
• Ice the cake, one tier at a time. Smooth out with pallet knife and decorate with pecans. 
• ENJOY!

Devonshire Cupcake

Okay well I know this isn't on the my favourite list of things to eat list and I also know I make fun of my family everytime something comes out of the oven and I hear the words "that's my favourite!" but this is one of my favourite recipies as well.

I don't make it all the time because I can't always be bothered with the stabilized whipping cream, but having just made them I am reminded they are well worth the effort!

The Devonshire Cupcake

(an adaptation of the Hummingbird Bakery vanilla cupcake) 

 Oh by the way these look cute with a strawberry 

on top but I forgot to take a photo... and they've all been eaten.

CUP CAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 120g of plain flour
• 140g caster sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 40g of butter at room temperature (this is important!)
• 120ml of milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 7 heaped teaspoons of strawberry jam
• 7 fresh strawberries

STABILIZED WHIPPING CREAM INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tsp of gelatin
• 30ml of cold water
• 1 1/2 cup of whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of icing sugar
• 1tsp of vanilla

METHOD

• Pre-heat oven to 170°C
• Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl and beat until a sandy consistency is reached.

•  Gradually add half of the milk and beat until just incorporated.
• Whisk egg, vanilla  and remaining milk in a separate bowl. (the reason being is cupcakes can not be over mixed as they become tough and not fluffy so the more mixed the ingredients are before going into the batter the less mixing overall.)
• Pour egg mixture into batter and beat until smooth. (Don't over mix.)
• Divide mixture into 7 patty pans in a 12-hole muffin tin. (Recipe says makes 12 but the standard patty pan size in Aus must be bigger and therefore only makes 7.)
• Bake for 25 mins. My oven is exactly 25 minutes and no longer, they should just begin to go lightly golden around the edges.

• Traditionally cup cakes are not the muffin dome shape most people assume, you should have a fairly even slab to pipe your icing on.
• Allow to cool.
• Using a knife or apple corer remove the center of the muffin and fill with a teaspoon of your favourite jam. 

• For the whipping cream, you need to trust me and follow the instructions word to word. I have made this about 3 times. The first time was perfect, the second time I was a little bit slack and it didn't turn out at all. So pay attention!
• Place a metal or glass bowl in the freezer along with your beaters for around 10 minutes.
• Combine gelatin and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until just dissolved and solution is clear and runny. Continue to scrape down sides to avoid crystals around the edge. 
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly but do not allow to thicken.
• Pull your bowl and beaters out of the freezer.
• Whip cream, sugar and vanilla in bowl until just beginning to thicken. On low speed gradually add gelatin mixture in a thin stream. Once combined beat on high until cream is thick and smooth. You can make this in advance and place in fridge but you will need to rebeat cream before piping.
• Stabilized cream keeps its thickness but air pockets begin to form throughout cream.

• Pipe cream on cupcakes (#5 nozzle), starting from the center and working your way out to create the 'rose' shape. Garnish with a fresh strawberry. 

Someone boil the kettle!