HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY to the food dept.!

Times flies when your's having fun, and that's what we have been doing for the past 2 years. We hope you have been having just as much fun, cooking and eating our yummy recipes. To celebrate our 2nd birthday, we are sharing with you this decadent tropical hummingbird cake. Each moist layer of cake is filled with sweet cream cheese icing, then we top it with the crunch of toffee pecans. Enough said, we need to go and pop some French and start the party.

The food dept.’s birthday hummingbird cake with toffee pecans

Serves 8-10

• 1kg pineapple, peeled
• 180g softened unsalted butter
• 11/4 cups (275g) raw caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 large ripe banana, mashed 
• 1 cup (90g) shredded coconut 

• 2/3 cup (80g) pecans, roughly chopped

• 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 

Cream cheese icing 
• 2 x 250g packets softened cream cheese
• 80g softened unsalted butter
• 11/3 cups (200g) icing sugar 

Toffee pecans
• 1 cup (220g) raw caster sugar
• 1 cup (140g) pecans

1. Preheat oven to 100°C. Cut 10 x 2mm-thick slices from the pineapple. Arrange in a single layer on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake for 1 hour. Turn slices over and return to oven for a further 1 hour or until pineapple is dry. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
2. Core the remaining piece of pineapple and roughly chop. Use a food processor to whiz the pineapple until just crushed. You will need about 250g crushed pineapple for the cake.
3. Grease and line two 20cm round cake pans and increase the oven to 180ºC. Using electric beaters, beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add the vanilla and eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the crushed pineapple, banana, coconut and pecans, then stir to combine. Add flour, cinnamon and a pinch of salt, then stir to combine.
4. Divide the mixture between the cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cakes to stand in the pans for 15 minutes to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make the icing, place the cream cheese, butter and half the icing sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat for a further 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Chill until needed.
6. To make the toffee pecans, combine the sugar with 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook, without stirring, for 10 minutes or until golden. Using a skewer, dip each pecan into the toffee. Drain off excess toffee and place the pecans on a baking paper-lined baking tray and allow to set.
7. To assemble, secure one cake to a serving plate with a little icing. Spread 1 cup icing on the cake, then top with the second cake. Spread remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with dried pineapple and toffee pecans.

This recipe was first published in the February issue of ABC delicious magazine. 
Recipe: Sally Courtney.