Tasha Tudor was an author and illustrator of many books and gardener extraordinaire.  Her beloved gardens and her home in Marlboro, Vermont are a beautiful memory of the woman who lived in a simpler way even in modern day.  Tasha Tudor passed away a few years ago, but her children’s stories, garden books, and recipes remain.

Her Hummingbird Cake Recipe (which has some similarity to my favorite carrot cake) was one Southern Living’s  most popular recipes of all time.  (Proving that even Northerners can cook like Southerners right?).  I thought of it because I have been seeing so many hummingbirds in my garden lately.  I never saw hummingbirds in the early years of our garden but now, (I pat my self on the back), I am pleased to see that they have found my home welcoming.

Here is the Humminbird Cake recipe from Tasha Tudor’s Website:

Ingredients:

for Cake

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped banana

for Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 16 oz. pkg. confectioners sugar

Directions:

Cake: Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened…DO NOT BEAT. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, bananas and 1 cup pecans. Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes clean. Cool cake in pans for 10 minutes then turn out and cool completely on wire racks.

Frosting: Mix butter, cream cheese and vanilla until soft and beaten. Add confectioners sugar until blended. Spread frosting between layers and sides/top of cake. Sprinkle chopped pecans on the top of the cake. (remember with a crumbly moist cake, put a very thin layer of frosting on first to “seal” the cake, then you can go back over and swirl the rest of the frosting all over)

garden images from gracious hospitality and hot milk. Hummingbird cake Image from Ezra Pound Cake