Hummingbird Cake

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For those yet to experience the joy of hummingbird cake, imagine the flavor as something between pineapple upside-down cake and banana bread, rounded out by the spices of carrot cake. With origins in Jamaica, the first American version of the recipe was believed to be published in Southern Living magazine. The cake would go on to become the magazine’s most-requested recipe of all time. While bananas, pineapple, and pecans and cream cheese frosting are considered nonnegotiable in this iconic cake, the jury is still out on whether or not coconut is a compulsory addition (we decided it wasn’t).

Where most hummingbird cakes include the pineapple (almost always crushed and from a can) in the cake batter, in this recipe it’s isolated and turned into a jam that’s layered throughout. Approached this way, the cake layers are moist but not sodden, gummy, or weighed down by the liquid from the pineapple, a common affliction in hummingbird cakes. Cooking down the pineapple with sugar and lime concentrates the flavor and introduces a welcome hit of acid, particularly refreshing against the cream cheese frosting. Speaking of, the frosting is more cream-cheese-flavored whipped cream than traditional frosting. It’s light and airy and stays that way even after a multiday stint in the fridge.