Hummingbird Cake

I first heard of Hummingbird Cake last summer when I was away at a friend's wedding. I stayed with another friend at her parents' house, and one night we had Hummingbird Cake for dessert. It was fabulous! I think that version had blueberries in it. I found this recipe in an old cookbook while I was bored one day at the hospital. I finally had a chance to make it the other night for a pair of family dinners. It was awesome. It's very simple to make and is one of the most moist and wonderfully-textured cakes I've made.

I have no idea why this is called Hummingbird Cake, but if anyone has any insights, do let me know!

Hummingbird Cake

1 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour*
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (or, I subsituted the same amount of apple sauce and it was great)
3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Icing (optional)

100g cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare an 8" square baking pan (i.e. butter & flour).

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, banana, pineapple together. Pour into the well. Stir to combine. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 50 minutes or until done.

For the icing, cream the cream cheese until soft and gradually beat in the icing sugar.

* Self-raising flour is available in Canada, but you have to look for it. Brodie is the brand I have and it comes in a white bag with blue writing.