Pineapple, walnuts, bananas, cream cheese frosting, and so much more
It’s been about 20 years now since the Bakehouse first started making Hummingbird Cake. It was one of the first items they added in an effort to make more traditional American breads and pastries available for the Roadhouse’s 2003 opening. This September, the Roadhouse will turn 26, the Bakehouse still makes Hummingbird Cake, and it remains as delicious as ever.
The other thing that’s stayed the same is that the cake’s origin story remains a tad unclear. Back in the late ’70s, Southern Living referenced it and claimed it. Another version gives modern-day credit to chef Edna Lewis, which ran in the spring 2009 issue of Saveur. Others say it’s an early-20th-century take on carrot cake—when pineapple came into heavy marketing promotion, this carrot-cake-pineapple mash-up might have popped into someone’s mind. And the meaning of the name? It’s so good that people hum when they eat it?
Looking to the Caribbean, another story is that the cake emerged from Jamaica. “Doctor bird” is the term for a particular type of hummingbird (the red-billed streamertail) that lives only on the island—and is the country’s official national bird. A recipe for Doctor Bird Cake appeared in the Jamaican Daily Gleaner in March 1969, and Air Jamaica put out their own recipe in 1977 when it was being served on the airline!
One thing is certain: Hummingbird Cake tastes tremendous!
