I have blueberries on the brain for some reason. I don't even really like them. But I love them in baked things. I was going to make some regular blueberry muffins but I decided that was boring and made these instead.
Hummingbird cake muffins with added blueberries. Recipe for the hummingbird cake here. There's banana, pineapple and blueberries. If that's not 3 of your five-a-day I don't know what is. Salad probably.
I was looking through stuff I'd put in the freezer the other day. There is a cake, several bran muffins, red velvet crumbled cake for decorating, marshmallow fluff, and some cream cheese frosting. Might throw out the bran muffins though...
EDIT - added some cream cheese frosting to balance out the healthy
I've been meaning to try this recipe out for ages. I found it in a book of American recipes I got as a birthday gift a while back. It's been a traditional Southern cake since the 70s, and is basically a mash-up between banana bread and a carrot cake. But with pineapple instead of carrot... and some coconut. Oh, and cream cheese frosting. NOM. Easy to make, as over-beating or under-beating won't affect the crumb, and sifting isn't necessary. I will definitely make this again, I love it. However, it could use more coconut (but I'm obsessed with coconut). Recipe to follow.
I used my Bundt tin because it doesn't get enough love. It's a huge big aluminium thing, cost a fortune but totally worth it. Cakes always come out completely evenly risen.
Hummingbird cake:
450g can of crushed pineapple
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup brown sugar (I used light Muscovado)
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup mashed banana (if they're really old and mushy, you might not want to use as much, the flavour can be over-powering)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 vegetable oil
- Preheat oven to 180C, grease a deep cake tin - 9-11 inch diameter
- Drain pineapple and save 1/4 cup of the syrup
- Sift dry ingredients together. Mix in pineapple, syrup, coconut, banana, egg and oil
- Mix until combined, then pour into pan
- Bake for around 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
Cream cheese frosting:
30g softened butter
60g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
- Beat together the butter and the cream cheese
- Add vanilla and slowly beat in the icing sugar, 1/2 cup at a time
- Do not over-beat the frosting - this will cause the frosting to go runny
- Frost fully-cooled cake
After making the giant chocolate cake, I never actually got to try any. I was working and it went to a better home. So when I got back I decided to make blue/green coconut cupcakes instead! Should have put some lime juice in the frosting, but you live, you learn. I do love a little cocktail umbrella.
Made with desiccated coconut and coconut milk.
