I have a bold statement, which might upset a few people. Retire the carrot cake and coconut cake from your Easter repertoire and bring back the hummingbird cake. Yes, a carrot cake is delicious and kitschy because Easter bunnies eat carrots, and coconut cake is subtle in tropical flavor and you can dye the sweetened coconut flakes green to look like grass and stud the cake with jelly beans. But let’s think outside the box for a minute and consider a cake that blends both the spice of carrot and the tropical flavors of coconut and is dressed up classically without the gimmicky Easter bunny treats: the hummingbird cake.

The hummingbird cake is Southern born, first published by Southern Living in 1978 by Mrs L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina. It is adapted from a Jamaican cake named after the island’s national bird, and is a banana spiced cake served with a pineapple glaze or sauce. In the late 1970s, the Jamaica Tourist Board used the cake in marketing aimed to attract Americans to visit the island. The traditional cake was then adapted, merging the foundation of a carrot cake with the Jamaican cake to create a new tiered Southern classic.

The cake gained popularity after Wiggins published her recipe in Southern Living, and is still one of the magazine’s most popular recipes, yet we rarely see the cake nowadays. The spring cake is a marriage of two cakes with a little nod to a third: carrot cake, coconut cake, and a pineapple upside-down cake. It looks grand like a carrot cake; its spicy, tropical flavors throughout the cake are light like the coconut cake; and the delicious, moist caramelized pineapple flavor and textures are comforting and nostalgic like the upside-down cake.

The hummingbird cake is a showstopper, a classic Southern tradition that North Carolina should be proud to have made popular. Change is hard, but this cake is bold and should be the new dessert that our children deem the only cake worthy of Easter for generations to come. –Justin Burke-Samson

Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
• 2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup coconut flakes, toasted
• Vegetable shortening

For the cream cheese frosting

• 2 8 oz. blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 16-oz. packages powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Using vegetable shortening, grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
3. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Slowly mix in pineapple, bananas, and coconut. Mix until just combined.
5. Divide batter evenly among the three pans.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick entered in the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans and cool completely, about 1 hour.
7. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended after each addition.
8. Slowly add vanilla and heavy cream. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
9. Assemble the cake. Place first cake layer on a serving platter, then spread 1 cup of the frosting over top. Top with second layer, and spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with third layer, and spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with additional coconut, pecans, or any preferred topping.

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