Hummingbird Cupcakes with Pineapple "Flowers"

Hummingbird cake.  I'd never even heard of it until just recently.  I think it's one of those Southern things, sort of like Red Velvet, that somehow never got on my cake radar until it started showing up everywhere.  Not that Hummingbird cake is everywhere, because it isn't.  But it ought to be.  In fact, if one Southern cake should be in every cupcake shop on earth, it should not be Red Velvet, it should totally be Hummingbird cake.

It's a petticoats & parasols kind of cake, and it beats the seersucker pants off of Red Velvet.

But what are those strange, deformed things on top of the darling cupcakes, you ask?  Those, my friends, are dried pineapple slices, shaped to look like tropical flowers from another planet.  Duh.

Here, I'll give you a closer look:

Still not sold on them?  The more you look at them, the more they look like flowers.  Let's move in a little more:

Okay, maybe that's a little too close.  Hmmm....

Actually, I'm pretty happy with the overall effect that a big tray of these had.  The pineapple slices looked sort of crazy after they were done drying, but once I pinched the middles to form the flower center, and they were sitting on the little cakes, they really did look nice.  The only issue I had with them was that the instructions said that they would take an hour to dry in the oven, and mine were in there for over FOUR hours.  Yeah.  Obviously, the thinner the slices are, the faster they'll dry, but mine were pretty darn thin and still took forever.  Maybe I just had a really wet pineapple....

Let's get back to the cake for a second, though.  If you've never had Hummingbird cake before, it goes like this: you know that carrot cake with the nuts and coconut and crushed pineapple?  That's what this is, only instead of carrots, it's got mashed banana.  All clear now?  Right.  Hummingbird cake is a sweet, nutty, semi-tropical cake with loads of texture and topped, of course, with cream cheese frosting.  

And Jurassic Park pineapple flowers on top.  Don't forget those. 

Freaky flowers or not, this is a really, really delicious cake.  It's an Any Time of Day Cake.  One you don't really feel TOO bad having for breakfast with a good cup of coffee.  It's a nice little afternoon treat or the perfect dessert after a dinner of fried chicken and coleslaw.  Or Pad Thai.  Whatever floats your boat.  The point is that this cake is fabulous and really deserves to share the spotlight with its attention-whore cousin.  Red Velvet has had her 15 minutes of fame, it's time to move over and let the lady with the hoop skirt have a turn.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350º

makes 30

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

In an electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed until combined:

2 sticks butter, melted and cooled

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

Add, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated:

3 large eggs

Continue beating until mixture is pale and fluffy.

In another bowl, stir together:

2 cups mashed ripe banana

2 cans (8 oz each) crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (original recipe calls for walnuts, but I used pecans because I'm a rebel)

1 cup coconut (original recipe calls for unsweetened, but I used sweetened because, well, you know..)

Add chunky stuff to egg mixture, beating until combined.  Stir in flour mixture with a rubber spatula.

Fill paper-lined tins 3/4 full and bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 minutes or so.  Transfer to wire racks to cool completely before removing.  Top each with cream cheese frosting and a freaky dried pineapple.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 4  cups

In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat 2-3 minutes:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

12 oz cream cheese, room temperature

Reduce speed to low and add, 1/2 cup at a time:

4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Add:

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Mix until smooth and combined.  

Dried Pineapple Flowers

Preheat oven to 225º.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.  Peel 1 or 2 pineapples and use a small melon baller to remove "eyes".  Use a sharp knife to cut pineapple crosswise into very thin slices. Place on baking sheets and bake until tops look dried, about 30 minutes (or 2 hours).  Flip and bake until completely dried, 25 to 30 minutes longer (or another 2 hours).  Pinch center of each pineapple slice to shape into a cone and let cool in a muffin tin to form flower shape.