Baking Fun: Hummingbird Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these bad boys yet again. It's probably the 20th time. They are simply one of my favorite non-chocolate cupcakes. "Hummingbird cake", from what I understand, is a southern recipe. I have seen the recipe around. Martha Stewart had it in her magazine. I forget when... I got the recipe I use from the internet. I don't remember where from as I copied it down a long time ago.

Seeing as I can't find the recipe and all the others I have found have twice the oil, I will go ahead and reprint what I have.

Hummingbird Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1 8oz can crushed pineapple, with liquid
2 mashed bananas
1 cup coursely chopped pecans

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt with a whisk in a good sized bowl.
2. Beat eggs.
3. Add oil and vanilla to beaten eggs and mix until somewhat combined.
4. Add egg/oil/vanilla mixture to flour/sugar/baking soda/cinnamon/salt mixture.
5. Mix together pineapple, bananas, pecans until combined.
6. Add to the rest of ingredients and stir to combine.

Bake at 350 degrees for ~25 minutes until golden and a cake tester comes out clean. I top these off with the cream cheese frosting recipe from the Buttercup Bakeshop book.

finished product

dry, wet, and chunky

Recipe: Fudge Frosting

As seen on Flickr, here is the recipe I have been working on for fudge frosting. My main issue is getting the right balance of chocolates to get at the flavor I am looking for. I like something on the sweet side, but not too sweet. Something that would appeal to kids and adults alike. To make it sweeter increase the semisweet by a couple of ounces and decrease the bittersweet or unsweetened. The bittersweet gives it a bite, the unsweetened a rich cocoa flavor, and the semisweet a sweetness... So, add and subtract based on what you are trying to get at flavorwise.

4 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
10 oz semisweet chocolate
2 sticks butter
5 cups powdered sugar
pinch salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole milk

1. Melt chocolates and butter over double boiler.
2. Stir until smooth.
3. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Sift powdered sugar and salt into a bowl.
5. Combine milk and vanilla.
6. Add milk/vanilla mixture to sugar/salt mixture.
7. Whisk until incorporated.
8. Add melted chocolate/butter mixture to milk/vanilla/sugar/salt mixture.
9. Stir until smooth.

I usually chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so, whatever it takes to get it thick enough to frost. Frost the cupcakes once the frosting thick enough, but I find that the frosted cupcakes taste best hours later or the next day, after the frosting has had some time to 'set'.

Cupcakes!

I have a love for cupcakes. It's undeniable. But I have been on a cupcake baking hiatus of sorts. It happens... I go through phases where I am either baking tons or not at all. I have been cooking a lot still - savory stuff - but I am feeling the urge to bake again. I attribute it to my discovery of the many other cupcake lovers out there. Its all so inspiring.

So, my plan for this weekend is Hummingbird Cupcakes, the perfect little bundles of sweetness to welcome spring.