Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Cake
Celebrating Our 500th Recipe On Our Blog!!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 25 minutes 
Cooling Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
3 cups All-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup butter, softened + greasing
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped & drained
Edible flowers

Cooking Tools
3  8" cake round pans
2 large mixing bowls
Small mixing bowl
Parchment paper
Flour sifter
Large whisk
Cooling rack
Off- set icing spatula
Hand mixer

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.  Grease cake pans with butter, cut parchment into rounds to fit bottom of pan and grease the parchment paper.  In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  In a small mixing bowl, mix together the smashed bananas, pineapple, oil, vanilla and eggs. Add all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend well with a large whisk.  Divide batter among the 3 prepped cake pans.  Bake for 25 minutes, insert wooden toothpick in the center to make sure the toothpick comes out clean.  Cool cake completely on a cooling rack before layering with filling and icing the cake. Once cakes are cooled, cut the cakes to make it more level if necessary.  Spread Pineapple Pecan Filling (recipe below) between layer.  Spread Cream Cheese Icing (recipe below)  Frost icing starting at the top and lightly ice on the sides, leaving the layers exposed.  Cook's Note:  Their will be icing leftover, you can use more icing on the cake or use for other baked goods.  Add edible flowers on top and cascading down the cake.
Serves 6-8

Pineapple Pecan Filling
Ingredients
1 cup pineapple, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups of the Cream Cheese Icing

Directions
Remove excess moisture from the chopped pineapple.  Mix all the ingredients together.

Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
2 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups confectioners sugar

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, beat with a hand mixer the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract until creamy.  Gradually add confectioner sugar until completely incorporated.