Good O'l Grannies Birthday Cake :)

So as we all know I am a giant lover of bananas. But I am not the only one in the family who is fond of the super fruit.My grandma enjoys munching on bananas almost as much as I do (I had to get my craziness for them somewhere). But this can cause some controversy when she stays with us, because I am a bit of a freak about my bananas. I have the kind of OCD where I get super anxious if I run out of foods I eat on a daily basis or cooking supplies. You do NOT want to see me when I run out of flour, it is ugly. This causes me to do crazy things like buy 20 bunches of bananas at once, or even hide a few (yes I know it's sad). Last year for my grandmas birthday I made her a hummingbird cake that she adored. Hummingbird cakes are a southern tradition that include pineapple, pecans, and you guessed it, bananas. 3 ENTIRE bananas. That's right, I love my grandma so much that I sacrificed 3 of my bananas for her scrumptious cake :). The combination of banana pineapple and pecans makes for a very delicious and moist cake, complimented by a great cream cheese frosting.

Hummingbird Cake

• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped pineapple
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line three 8 inch pans with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until thick and light (about 5 minutes).
4. Slowly add in the canola oil, then gradually add in the flour mixture, creating a thick batter.
5. Fold in the pecans, pineapple, and bananas, then evenly spread the batter into the prepared pans.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool cakes, then remove from pans to cool completely before leveling and frosting.

 Cream cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 5-6 powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

 Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
4. After cooling and leveling the cakes, fill and frost them with the cream cheese frosting.