Vegan Gluten-Free Florida Hummingbird Cake

       Okay, since I had ripe bananas sitting on my countertop, reminding me I needed to whip up a banana-inspired dessert, I went to the drawing board. Banana cake? Banana bread? Maybe even banana pudding? ....NO!!! It finally came to me, why not go for an old classic with a fun new twist?!

       Now we have Hummingbird Cake, with a kiss of orange. I hope you enjoy this delicious new creation. If you have a fun classic recipe you’ve played around with to make your own, feel free to share it in the comments below, and who knows maybe you’ll find it as a new featured recipe.     

You'll need:

1 cup Nutiva coconut oil

1 cups brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp coconut extract

1 tsp orange extract

2 large bananas, ripe (about 1 cup mashed)

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

3 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp Bob's Red Mill xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp vinegar

1  cup dehydrated pineapple, diced

1 cup shredded coconut  

       Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and prepare two 9" round cake pans.

       In a medium bowl, cream the coconut oil and sugars until light and fluffy. Then add in the extracts and continue whipping until fully creamed.

       Add in the mashed banana and pumpkin, and mix well to combine all ingredients.

Combine vinegar and coconut milk in a cup or small bowl, then set aside until needed.

       In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Then stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture a little at a time, alternating with the milk.

           Fold in pineapple and shredded coconut.

       Pour batter into prepared pans, then Bake for 30 - 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center

       Vegan Orange-Kissed Frosting

1 ½ cups Nutiva palm shortening

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp coconut extract

1 tsp orange extract

       In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip the shortening until fluffy. Whip in one cup of powdered sugar, Then Add in a second cup of powdered sugar and extracts.  To finish, beat in the remaining cup of powdered sugar. If you would like the frosting to be a bit thinner, just mix in splash of coconut milk.

   Spread the frosting over the bottom layer of cake for the filling, then place the second cake on top.  Finish frosting the top and sides of the cake with the REMAINING frosting. For an added touch, garnish with shredded coconut and dried pineapple.

       Enjoy!