HUMMINGBIRD POKE CAKE
Makes 1 (13x9-inch) cake
If you like the iconic Southern layered hummingbird cake, then it’s impossible not to like its poke cake cousin: lightly caramelized pineapple sauce soaked into a fragrant banana cake crowned with tangy frosting.
3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
1½ cups (336 grams) vegetable oil
1½ cups (341 grams) mashed ripe banana
¾ cup (180 grams) undrained canned crushed pineapple in juice
3 large eggs (150 grams), room temperature
1½ teaspoons (6 grams) vanilla extract
Pineapple Compote (recipe follows)
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Garnish: chopped toasted pecans
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with baking spray with flour.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, banana, pineapple, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
5. Using a ½-inch-wide wooden dowel or the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes through hot cake at 1-inch intervals. Pour warm Pineapple Compote all over cake, spreading with an offset spatula and pressing filling into holes. Let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting onto cooled cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Garnish with pecans, if desired. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
PINEAPPLE COMPOTE
Makes 3⅓ cups
½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
1 cup (220 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2⅓ cups (562 grams) canned crushed pineapple in juice, drained and juice reserved
1½ tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add brown sugar and salt, and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Add pineapple.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons(30 grams) reserved pineapple juice and cornstarch. Whisk juice mixture into butter mixture, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until cornstarch flavor is cooked out, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Use immediately.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Makes about 3 cups
8 ounces (226 grams) cream cheese, softened
½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound (454 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter at medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add vanilla and salt, and beat until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low, and gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until combined and stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium, and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
MINT CHIP SHEET CAKE
Makes 1 (11x8-inch) cake
Chocolate cakes made with high-quality neutral oil outcompete those made with butter when it comes to the moistness factor. To boost the flavor even further, we added coffee and a pop of peppermint extract to
