Picture Perfect Cooking

My grandmother “Nanny” has always baked a lot.  I think that is where my love of baking originated.  She used to make hummingbird cake a lot for the holidays and I remember the leftovers just kept getting better and better in the days after the main meal.  Since C & I had two Thanksgiving meals to attend, I decided to try a hummingbird cupcake recipe that I had found so it would be easy to divide and transport.

This recipe was originally on the blog www.cupcakeblog.com back in March.  I have been waiting for the cool fall weather to try it because the flavors really go well with the season.  The frosting is a cream cheese frosting that I use on Italian Cream cakes.  Hope you enjoy!

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

8oz can crushed pineapple with juice

2 mashed bananas

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare muffin pan with cupcake liners.  Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.  Beat eggs and then add oil and vanilla to the eggs.  

Add egg mixture to the flour mixture.  Add the bananas, pineapple with juice, and pecans and stir to combine.

Fill each liner about 2/3 full and bake for approximately 25 minutes.  Let cool completely and top with cream cheese frosting.

For the frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

4 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 lb powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add sugar and mix well.  Add vanilla and stir until combined.

Frost the cupcakes and enjoy! I topped mine with one toasted pecan half.