in honor of dear friends, I give you the humble, yet hearty, hummingbird cake.  I first made this for a friend/co-worker/office mate extraordinaire’s birthday (I miss those celebrations!)  I will always remember the silly animal videos, Redneck Ninja School, and the best darn “Office Space” ever – big hugs to all of my Mountain Homies – and Tyler Cullen, thanks for bringing Hummingbird Cake to me – that’s pretty neat!

Cake

• 1 1/2 c pecans, toasted and chopped
• 3 1/4 c cake flour
• 2 c sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 bananas, smashed
• 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 3/4 c applesauce
• 2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350; (*note: while heating the oven, I placed my pecans on a baking sheet for 5 minutes – toasted pecans: check – preheated oven: check) In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon; whisk or stir to combine. Stir in eggs and remaining ingredients, stirring only until combined. Fold in 1 c pecans. Spoon batter (thick) into prepared bundt pan (*note 2: I buttered AND floured my pan, because there is nothing worse than flipping over a bundt cake and having half of it stuck to the pan!) Bake for 65 minutes or until wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool for about 20 minutes IN pan before inverting to cool completely.

Frosting/Glaze

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 – 2 c confectioner’s sugar
• 1-3 T half & half

In a medium bowl, stir all ingredients using 1 T half & half; if more of a glaze consistency is desired, use remaining milk to thin down. Drizzle/spread over COOLED cake – sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup pecans over glazed cake – enjoy, v.