4th of July Hummingbird Cake(s)

The 4th of July always seems to present itself with the opportunity to indulge a little bit. We are granted a day off of work (some of us) to honor and remember how lucky we are to live in America and how hard many people have worked to arrive at this point. It has become a day to spend time with friends and family, enjoy a summer day with good food, a few drinks, and some fireworks. It's pretty simple, but is always a holiday I look forward to. 

This year I attempted a new dessert to bring to our 4th of July festivities. Hummingbird Cake. It turned out great! Below are some pictures and the recipe I followed from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. Enjoy!

  

Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 ¼ cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups very ripe bananas

1 (8 ounce) can crush pineapple in unsweetened juice, drained

½ chopped pecans

Garnish

Chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour baking dish. I used a large rectangle baking dish and then had some batter left over so made a few cupcakes which I might just continue to do in the future.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, the baking soda and the salt. Wisk or sift ingredients together. Set aside.

In another large bowl, combine the oil with sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat with an electric mixer until light, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vanilla. Add the pineapple and bananas. Add the dry ingredients in thirds. After all ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth, stir in the chopped pecans. Pour the batter in the baking dish and bake for 40-50 minutes. If using muffin tins, these should only take about 15-20 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely before topping with the icing. Garnish with chopped pecans.

                                                     

Cream Cheese Icing

1 pound (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into pieces

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (or whisked)

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the sugar and beat continuously. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Bachelorette Weekend

This past weekend I had my bachelorette party. For years when I envisioned what I would do for this, I only ever saw my close group of girlfriends renting (or borrowing) a house on or near a lake for a weekend; eating, drinking, laughing and just having a marvelous time together. This is exactly what we did and it was a weekend I will never forget. I keep wanting to go back and do it all over again. If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my life from my mother it is the importance of girlfriends. Of course we all have our significant others who we love very much (if not yet, remain patient, it will happen), but there is something so extremely therapeutic about getting together with girlfriends who have known you for years. Girls who you can be silly with, lounge around in comfy’s with, vent about life with, etc.  It is something I hope to never take for granted and will always cherish.

As part of my contribution to the food for the bachelorette weekend, I made a favorite of mine. It’s a recipe I found from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

Peach Shortbread Bars 

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 ¾ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter

1 large egg

2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 375 f.

Use some butter to lightly coat the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Combine the sugar, baking powder, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium sized bowl. Wisk together so it’s mixed together. In a separate bowl, mix the butter and egg together until it’s creamed. Add in the flour mixture, using a mixer to combine until it is crumbly. Use about half the crumbly flour mixture to coat the bottom of the baking dish. Press it down into the pan; save the remainder of the flour mixture for the top. Add the sliced peaches and scatter the remaining flour mixture on top. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until it slightly browns. Let cool and enjoy.