Pineapple hummingbird cake

Unforgettable: a coconut cookbook, including Fiji dishes, Three Loose Coconuts 2004

“He who plants a coconut tree plants food and drink, vessels and clothing, a habitation for himself and a heritage for his children” South Seas proverb

Pecan hummingbird cake   “fruity, nutty … and oh-so tropical!”

1 ½ cups plain flour; ½ cup self-raising flour; 1 1/3 cups castor sugar; 1 tsp ground nutmeg; 1 tsp baking powder; salt to taste; 2/3 cup desiccated coconut; 1 cup chopped pecan nuts; 2 eggs; ½ cup vegetable oil; ½ cup butter (unsalted, melted); 2/3 cup banana (mashed, ripe); 1 cup crushed pineapple (drained from tin); 1 tsp natural vanilla essence; half pecan nuts and flaked coconut for decoration

Method:

1 Sift flours, sugar, spice, soda, powder and salt in a large bowl. Add coconut and nuts. Mix well

2 In a separate bowl, hand-beat eggs, oil and butter

3 Mix in already-mashed bananas, drained pineapple and vanilla

4 Add wet mix to dry. Combine well

5 Pour into greased cake tin, either one 22cm square cake tin, or two 12cm x 22cm tins

6 Decorate top with a few pecan nuts. Sprinkle generously with coconut flakes

7 Bake at 180⁰C for 20-25 minutes (small), 30-35 minutes (large), or until cooked when tested

8 Let cake stand in tin for 15 minutes before turning out and cooling on a rake

9 Cake is best refrigerated overnight … if you can wait!

I made a couple of changes to the recipe - I made it gluten free, in a ring tin, and with shredded coconut rather than flakes, it was delicious, Anne