Hummingbird Cake

Wow. And WOW! I've never made to his cake before. In fact, until a couple of weeks ago I don't think I'd even heard of Hummingbird Cake (and why is it called hummingbird cake exactly?!). This recipe was the alternative choice in our baking challenge this month. I have to say I thought that pineapple and banana sounded a slightly odd combination, but certainly worth a whirl. I had a huge bag of bananas from the reduced section at the supermarket, so made one cake for home and another to take to work. The compliments flowed (always lovely to be appreciated) and two of the boys *may* have gone back for thirds!!

Hummingbird Cake
3 cups plain flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup chopped pistachios
2 cups roughly mashed banana

Cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 tbsp butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp each lemon zest and lemon essence
Half cup pistachios, chopped, to sprinkle on the top

Preheat oven to 170°C. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and salad oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and 1 cup pistachios. Stir in the bananas. Spoon the batter into 23cm round tin lined with baking paper. Bake for 60 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

101 ways to use up unwanted Easter eggs....

Ok, so I don't really have 101 ways to use up unwanted Easter eggs. Probably because the notion of chocolate being 'unwanted' is a strange concept if ever there was one. But I'll start the list here with no 1. No 2 and beyond will have to wait until next year, as rather worryingly The Family appear to have inherited the passion for chocolate, and the Easter eggs are now very nearly gone.

Three over-ripe bananas in the fruit bowl were crying out to be turned into a banana cake. What better way to use up some of that unwanted Easter confectionary, than to make a chocolate banana cake?!

Soon after arriving in New Zealand I was introduced to the wonder of the Edmonds Cookery Book. The Edmonds recipe for banana cake is one of the best I've tried. My chocolate version was a big hit. Slightly squidgy, but not soggy, and very yummy.

Chocolate Banana Cake

125 g butter/margarine
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp hot milk
1 ½ cups plain flour
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 Easter egg, broken into small pieces

Preheat oven to 180 C.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
Add mashed banana, mix well. Add the baking soda to the hot milk, and add soda mixture to cake batter. Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder. Fold into cake batter. Finally add the broken chocolate pieces.
Turn into greased 20cm tin, and bake for 50 mins or until skewer comes out clean.