Hummingbird Cake (Recipe)

Ingredients

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with juice

1 cup cooking oil

3 large eggs, well beaten

2 cups chopped banana (3 bananas)

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze:

1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Steps

1.Preheat the oven to 325°.  Generously grease a 10-inch tube or fluted tube pan.

2. To make the cake:  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

3. Remove 2 tablespoons of the juice from the can of pineapple.  Set aside for the glaze.

4. Add the pineapple, oil, eggs, banana, nuts and vanilla to the flour mixture.  Stir until just blended (do not beat).

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake in the 325° oven about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 15 minutes.  Invert the cake onto a wire rack and remove the cake from the pan.  Cool completely.

6. To make the glaze: In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter or margarine and powdered sugar.  Add enough of the reserved pineapple juice to make glaze of drizzling consistency.  Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.

Tips:

To evenly grease a fluted tube pan, use a pastry bush to coat the pan with shortening.

For a glaze with a whole new dimension, substitute rum for the pineapple juice.