If you’ve never tried my gluten free hummingbird cake recipe before, then now’s your chance. It’s the type of cake that would always catch my eye when walking past a bakery in Brighton, but this one is gf and dairy free too!
It’s hard to describe a Hummingbird cake with any words other than: awesome, mind-blowing or love at first slice etc. So let me just say this. If you’re a carrot cake fan, you will absolutely love this. So here’s my gluten free Hummingbird cake recipe…
But if it’s not a carrot cake, how is a gluten free Hummingbird cake different I hear you ask?
Well, it’s like a little ray of tropical sunshine, slice after slice. The crushed pineapple and banana high-five each other in every bite, with the lovely warmth of spice coming through underneath.
The pineapple and banana mean that the cake is super moist, yet the pecans throughout give it a welcome crunch too.
It’s got a lovely warmth to it from the spice which gives it a lovely banana bread-like taste too. Can you tell I’m having trouble describing just how awesome this cake is?!
The cream-cheese icing is the perfect finishing touch of sweetness – no dairy required.
I decided to update this recipe and make it look a little fancy by giving it a ‘naked’ look with the icing. It really isn’t all that hard to do either and people will think you should be on the Bake-Off or something!
(although if I went on the Bake-Off, I’d be kicked off in the first week without fail for demanding zero gluten on set)
I did use a cake scraper like this one which is well worth having in your baking arsenal. You essentially just whack loads of icing on the sides and then scrape it all off as much as you can.
Et Voila! You’re suddenly a baking genius.
Coming in at three tiers, my gluten free Hummingbird cake is a real showstopper and I always bake it for special occasions.
(even my own birthday – no, I’m not kidding)
There’s something about three tiered cakes that just looks mega impressive, but at the same time, it’s no more difficult than baking any other cake!
I used three 20cm round baking tins to make all three of these sponges FYI.
So, are you ready to get baking? Here’s my gluten free hummingbird cake recipe…
Gluten Free Hummingbird Cake Recipe (dairy free)
Ingredients
- 250g pecans
Dry mixture
- 370g gluten free plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
'Wet' mixture
- 220g tinned pineapple (drained and finely chopped)
- 200g light brown sugar
- 150g caster sugar
- 4 ripe bananas (mashed)
- 3 large eggs room temp
- 160ml vegetable oil
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
For the icing
- 150g dairy free spread room temp
- 340g dairy free cream cheese I use Tofutti (room temp)
- 750g - 850g icing sugar yes this seems a lot but it's a 3 tiered cake, & I prefer to have more than less!
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Firstly bake your pecans in the oven - spread on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 160C (fan) for 8 - 10 minutes. Once done, allow to cool and then break up into smaller pieces by hand.
- Prepare your tins. Grease and line 3 round cake tins with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to about 180C (fan).
- Mix together your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. So that's the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and allspice.
- In another separate bowl, whisk together the rest of your 'wet' ingredients (mashed banana, pineapple, eggs, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla).
- Gradually pour your 'wet' ingredients into your dry mixture and whisk together until completely combined. (This is a lot of mixture so really ensure you get right down to the bottom of the bowl when mixing!)
- Fold in 170g of your pecan nut pieces into the cake mixture and save the rest until later.
- Evenly spoon the cake mixture into your 3 cake tins and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to completely cool, then remove from their tins.
- In the mean time, make your icing. Beat your dairy free spread until a little smooth and creamy.
- Add your dairy free cream cheese and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth again (you could use an electric hand mixer here).
- Gradually add your sifted icing sugar. I add around 200g at a time and mix it in. The cream cheese mixture will absorb all the icing sugar each time. Continue to add icing sugar until it's the right consistency for you (the icing will firm up once you have iced the cake and refrigerated it so it doesn't have to be really stiff).
- To assemble your gluten free Hummingbird Cake, place the first cake tier on your serving plate and spread with cream cheese icing. Sandwich the second cake tier and repeat with the icing. Finally sandwich your top tier for the triple layer!
- Spread the rest of the icing all over the top and sides of the cake with a palette knife until it's completely covered. (if it looks messy at first, don't worry - mine did!!
- Then, using an icing scraper (or just a palette knife with a long, straight edge) scrape off all the icing from the sides until it looks like it does in the photos. Use your palette knife to evenly spread a thin layer of icing on top.
- Sprinkle your leftover pecan nut pieces on top to decorate.
- I like to chill a little before serving to help the icing set, but then it's ready to serve, enjoy!
Notes
So that’s a rap for my gluten free hummingbird cake recipe! It’s my go-to crowd pleaser when it comes to baking for friends and family and I hope it will be for you too.
Let me know if you get the chance to give it a try by leaving a comment below or on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram.
Thanks for reading and happy baking,
Becky xxx
Oh and don’t forget to pin this before you leave!
