Cakes and hummingbirds

We all have piles of cookbooks, Grandma ‘s fool proof Victoria sponge recipe, and good chocolate cake scribbled in a pad full of other favourites, but really how many cake recipes do you need in one life time?

My default birthday cake is Nigella’s coca cola cake, I also refer to the Domestic Goddess for her victoria sponge fairy cakes, and her lemon and almond tart.  I make a lot of bunny cake (carrot) of course, and then the only other cake I will ever need is something special for an adult birthday.  Enter the Hummingbird.  I once went to a wedding where all the bride’s girl friends had made different cakes, piled up on a table like a market stall for us all to savour.  That is the day I fell for Hummingbird Cake.

I use cups for this cake, I try and weigh my cups just to see if there is any consistency in the quantities, but inevitably when I start to make it the next time, I automatically reach for my cups, so I’m sticking with them for this.  Thank you Grace for the cups, 25 years of use, bought as a set of mini saucepans when Poppy was little and liked to play in Grace’s pantry.

IN A BIG BOWL – SIEVE TOGETHER:

3 cups Plain Flour.

2 cups white sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon  

IN A JUG OR BOWL

3 eggs

1 ¼ cups sunflower oil

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

CHOP INTO SMALL CHUNKS

2 ripe bananas

Tinned pineapple, a similar quantity to the bananas, maybe 6 rounds of pineapple

Reserve the juice the pineapple comes in.

Add the jug of egg to the flour, then stir in the fruit, I add half the juice from the can of pineapple to loosen the mix into a soft batter.   Pop the whole lot in a big (26 cm 10 inch is what I use) round greased tin and bake for ages in a hot oven.  I usually have to put foil over the top half way thru.  I reckon 40 mins but it could be 60 or more.   Keep an eye on it and if its still soggy maybe put some foil on for the last 20 mins. 

I don’t ice or fill mine, I expect if you used two baking tins and sandwiched them with cream cheese frosting it would be divine but I can’t hack the extra calories so I just shake a little icing sugar on top.

And yes, consider bringing a grandma to celebrate a big birthday and pay the bill! The cake here doesn’t look very glamourous but with enough cava flowing, it is all you need.

Here are the other cakes I mention. I don’t really like baking, I don’t like the volumes of sugar and butter, and I don’t like the washing up, but these two always go down well and the recipes are easy and reliable.

Almond and Lemon Tart 

All in one big bowl,

250g soft butter

250g sugar,

add 2 eggs and 50g of flour then 2 more eggs,

a glug of almond essence,

the juice of 2 big lemons 180 ml last time I measured.

250g of ground almonds.   

It should be quite wet.  I know its annoying that the juice of two lemons isn’t very specific.  My lemons are huge and juicy, so maybe 4 lemons if yours are not.  Bake in a round greased tin for about 50 mins at 160 degrees so it doesnt brown too much.

Coca Cola Cake

IN A BOWL

200g plain flour

250g Sugar

½ teaspoon Bicarb

¼ teaspoon salt

IN A JUG

100ml semi skimmed milk

30g yogurt, usually Greek but I did once use strawberry, it just made the cake an odd colour.

1 egg, a glugg of vanilla essence

In a PAN on the Heat

125g butter

2 tablespoons powered chocolate drink

175 ml coca cola.

Add the butter mix to the flour mix then add the milk mix.  Bake in a big round greased tin to 40 mins at 180 ish.

That’s enough of sugar and butter for one day.  Now he prefers a pizza at the beach!

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