Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese and Pecan Frosting (for the health nuts & the diabetic pregnant ladies)

It turns out that I’ve acquired gestational diabetes during this whole pregnancy thing. Considering that for the first 6 months when I gave up diet coke, I took up fruit juice and sweet tea, AND that I couldn’t get enough of chocolate milkshakes (eeeep!), it doesn’t seem particularly surprising (but it is absolutely. the. pits.) I keep having these crazy sugar cravings, which I’ve kept at bay with sugar-free, fat free jello pudding, but sometimes all I can think about is a giant funfetti cupcake or an oreo blizzard.

We were having a dinner party for some people we’re aggressively pursuing as friends (my New Year’s resolution) the weekend before my 31st birthday and I just felt like I couldn’t possibly serve them PUDDING, so I decided to try my hand at a healthy-ish version of a cake I’d had my eye on since I got this cookbook for Christmas.

On top of this, the polar vortex also had me wanting something that reminded me of warmer times, so the Classic “tropical” hummingbird cake that I’ve heard about my whole life, seemed like the way to go and then I found a splenda-based recipe online. Turns out that a little splenda and applesauce can make a cake a little better for you.

Who says the pregnant diabetic lady can’t have her cake (and eat it, too?)

Hummingbird Cake

Serves12

What You Need:

For the Cake

3 Cups All Purpose Flour (I bet cake flour wouldn’t be bad, either)

3 Eggs (beaten)

1 Cup natural/sugar free Applesauce (or one cup vegetable oil if you want a lighter, less healthy cake)

1/4 Cup Splenda (Or 1/4 Cup granulated sugar)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup 1% buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

2 cups diced bananas

For the Frosting

2 (8 ounce) containers fat-free cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup light butter

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp banana extract

3.4 Cup Splenda

1 cup chopped pecans

What you do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour two round cake pans.

Start by mixing all of your dry ingredients in a bowl (ideally the one that attaches to your mixer). This definitely includes the cinnamon, sugar, flour, etc.

In a small bowl, beat together eggs, buttermilk, and applesauce; pour into dry ingredients, and stir until it’s all moistened. Don’t beat it, but do make sure everything is all mixed together really well.

You’ll then need to chop and add in your fruit… this can get clumpy quickly, so add it in a little bit at a time!

Once everything is all mixed together, pour everything into your two floured cake pans.PS: if you taste the batter at this point you may think to yourself “Geez! this is waaaay too sweet! Thanks, splenda. but as the cake cooks somehow the sweetness fades and you end up with something akin to a more tropical banana bread sweetness.

Once those two babies are in the oven and baking, (cook them for about 25-30 mins or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean) get started on your DELICIOUS cream cheese frosting. This involves whipping the fat free cream cheese, the 1/4 cup of splenda (maybe add in a pinch or two more to make it a little sweeter) and the butter together.

Once it’s fluffy, add in your extracts and whip a bit more. NOTE: this WILL NOT mix together very well, or whip if the butter and the cream cheese aren’t already at room temperature. Trust me. Also, once it’s done, don’t refrigerate it while you wait for the cakes to bake and cool… you’ll get a MUCH harder version of the frosting, which makes slathering it on the cake MUCH harder.

Once the cakes have finished cooking (and you’ve tested them for done-ness) go around the edges with a thin knife and flip them over onto a cooling rack. Let them cool for at least 20 minutes. this will keep you from many, many frosting headaches (melty frosting, the soft, warm cake mixing into the frosting, etc)

Obviously, you’ll want to slather some frosting between the two cakes to help them stick together.. also, add in a handfull of pecans for good measure and crunch.

Cover your cake with all that delicious cream cheese frosting and then garnish with the pecans.

It turns out that this cake is reminiscent of a carrot cake for some people… a carrot cake made with tropical ingredients. Also, take heed.. the applesauce makes the cake a little heavier than oil might. So, while you get a healthier version, you sacrifice “lightness”. I didn’t mind one bit.

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