Hummingbird Cake

For Mary

A variation on the carrot cake them- but with no carrot! This recipe is the Hummingbird Bakery's signature cake, hence the recipe, but they have 3 times the sugar in the icing (it must be terrifyingly sweet). I have also added some brown flour to the mix to add nutrition. In my dear friend Mary's words: "OMG that is like the BEST cake I have ever tasted!" Personally I wouldn't go THAT far... but it does look mighty impressive. Try it and see for yourself.

2 med ripe bananas mashed
300 g oil
3 large eggs
300g sugar
200g white plain flour
100g fine ground brown flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
150g chopped tinned pienapple
100g chopped pecan nuts

Icing
200g icing sugar
100 g unsalted butter (room temp)
200g soft cream cheese (like Philadelphia) (cold)

3 x 8 inch cake tins - greased and based lined with baking parchment
Preheat oven to 170 C

With electric whisk whisk up oil, eggs, sugar and bananas. Don't worry if it looks slightly split. Add in flours, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Whisk until incorporated. Fold in nuts and pineapple. Divide between 3 tins. Bake for 20 mins until risen and golden.

Leave to cool for 5 mins in tins then turn out onto cooling racks until completely cold (at least 1 1/2 hours)

Using an electric whisk combine icing sugar and butter. Then add in cream cheese and whisk for 2-3 mins till creamy. Ice using 1/3 between each layer, with the final 1/3 on the top. Decorate with whole pecan nuts.