HUMMINGBIRD CUPCAKES
MY VERSION OF THE SOUTHERN HUMMINGBIRD CAKE BUT BAKED AS CUPCAKES!
SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER | QUANTITY: 12 cupcakes
LISTS
GROCERY LIST:
½ stick | Unsalted Butter
2 large | Eggs
8 ounces | Cream Cheese
½ cup & 2 tablespoons | Vegetable or Canola Oil
½ cup | Light Brown Sugar (packed)
½ cup | Granulated Sugar
2 ½-3 cups | Confectioners’ Sugar
1 ½ cups | All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoon | Kosher Salt
½ teaspoon | Baking Soda
½ teaspoon | Ground Cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon | Ground Allspice
2 teaspoons | Vanilla Extract
½ cup | Crushed Pineapple (drained)
2 | Ripe Bananas
1 cup | Raw Pecan Halves
KITCHENWARE:
12-cup Muffin Pan
Food Processor
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer w/ Large Mixing Bowl
Small Mixing Bowl & Medium Mixing Bowl
Large Pastry Bags or Plastic Bags
Large Round Pastry Tip & Large Star Pastry Tip
Measuring Spoons & Cups, Sieve (fine mesh strainer) & Rubber Spatula
Paper Muffin Cups or Parchment Paper
PREP
Helpful tips!
Let butter, eggs and cream cheese come to room temperature by leaving out for about 1 hour*.
When measuring flour, don’t pack the flour or you will end up adding more flour into the mixture and risk having drier cupcakes. Instead, use a large spoon to scoop flour into measuring cups and level off with the handle of the spoon.
Don’t sift kosher salt. It’s usually not fine enough to get through the sieve.
Cream cheese frosting consistency can melt faster than buttercream when too warm so I like to chill it and keep these cupcakes in the fridge. The frosting stays firm and these cupcakes are very moist and do not dry out.
*Dependent on the temperature of your home
BAKE
CUPCAKES:
1 cup | Raw Pecan Halves
2 | Ripe Bananas (about 1 cup mashed)
1 ½ cups | All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoon | Baking Soda
½ teaspoon | Ground Cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon | Ground Allspice
½ teaspoon | Kosher Salt
½ cup & 2 tablespoons | Vegetable or Canola Oil
½ cup | Light Brown Sugar (packed)
½ cup | Granulated Sugar
2 large | Eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon | Vanilla Extract
½ cup | Crushed Pineapple (drained)
FROSTING:
8 ounces | Cream Cheese (room temperature)
½ stick | Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon | Vanilla Extract
2 ½-3 cups | Confectioners’ Sugar
Preheat oven to 325° F and place rack in the center of the oven.
Place ¼ cup pecans in a baggie and break down into smaller pieces or finely chop. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange a thin layer of crushed pecans on one side of baking sheet and remaining ¾ cup of pecan halves on other side and bake for 4 minutes. Remove and stir pecans around making sure to keep crushed and pecan halves separate and bake for an additional 4 minutes until toasted and fragrant. Set aside. Leave oven at 325° F to bake cupcakes.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin cups or cut out 12 large squares from parchment paper to create your own muffin cups. Set aside.
Mash bananas with fork in a small bowl and set aside.
Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice in a medium bowl. Add salt, mix and set aside.
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat oil and sugars in large bowl until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Add vanilla extract, mashed bananas and pineapple and beat until combined.
Add flour mixture in 2 parts, beating until just incorporated. Batter should feel thick and well combined. Use a rubber spatula to ensure all ingredients at the bottom and around the edges are incorporated. Add ¼ cup toasted, crushed pecans and mix with spatula.
Evenly distribute batter between 12 prepared muffin cups filling about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate pan and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the topping is golden brown. Allow cupcakes to slightly cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto wire rack. Leaving hot cupcakes in the muffin pan too long will trap moisture and could result in a soggy cupcake. Let cool at room temperature or place in fridge.
While cupcakes cool, make the frosting by beating room temperature cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and continue beating for 1 minute. Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar until mostly mixed. Increase speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl until smooth and creamy. Prep pastry bag by cutting off tip and adding an interchangeable pastry tip. Fill prepped pastry bag with frosting and put in fridge to chill and firm up.
While frosting chills, remove 12 of the best looking toasted pecan halves and set aside. Pulse remaining ¾ cup of toasted pecan halves in a food processor and pulse until even fine crumb texture. Don’t mix continuously or you could risk processing too long and turning the pecans into a paste instead of a crumb.
Gather cupcakes, frosting, pecan crumbs and pecan halves. Using a round pastry tip, pipe a simple layer of frosting on each cupcake. Dip and roll frosted cupcakes upside down in pecan crumbs to coat frosting. Swap pastry tip to any other star pasty tip (I prefer a closed star tip) and pipe individual stars on top of crumb coated frosting to create a pattern. I like to start from the outside and then pipe the center one last. Garnish each cupcake with single toasted pecan half.
Serve chilled and store leftovers in an airtight container in fridge.
