Vegan Hummingbird Cake

Square cropped image of double layer pineapple banana cake, with frosting on top and between layers, with a large piece cut out of it, sitting on a round wood cake board. A slice of cake, standing upright, sits behind the cake to the right and a small dish of chopped pineapple in the front right corner.

Enjoy this delicious vegan hummingbird cake recipe that’s eggless and dairy free. Loaded with pineapple, banana, pecans and spices, it’s full of flavor and topped with a rich vegan cream cheese frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American-inspired, Vegan

Keyword Vegan hummingbird cake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings Slices

Calories 319kcal

Equipment

Large mixing bowl
Small bowl
Spatula
9-inch round baking dish
Measuring cups and spoons
Electric beater

Ingredients

Hummingbird Cake

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
4 tablespoons water
¾ cup brown sugar , lightly packed
½ cup apple sauce
⅓ cup vegetable oil (neutral taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup banana , mashed (about 2 medium bananas)
½ cup crushed pineapple (I use canned pineapple)
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup pecans , chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup vegan cream cheese (4 oz)
1 ½ cup icing sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Step 1: Prep Flaxseed “Egg”

To begin, mix ground flaxseed with water in a small bowl. Set aside.
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 4 tablespoons water

Step 2: Mix Wet Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together lightly packed brown sugar, apple sauce, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and there are no clumps of brown sugar.
¾ cup brown sugar, ½ cup apple sauce, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a separate bowl, mash bananas then measure and add to the large mixing bowl.
¾ cup banana
Open a can of crushed pineapple and spoon it out (don’t pour or you’ll mostly get the juice).
½ cup crushed pineapple
Add your flaxseed mixture to the bowl.
Stir the mashed banana, pineapple and flaxseed into the liquid ingredients.

Step 3: Stir in Dry Ingredients

Next, measure all-purpose flour by spooning it into the measuring cup then use the back of a knife (or flat edge) to scrape off excess flour. Add this measured cup to your mixing bowl.
1 cup all-purpose flour
Measure whole wheat flour the same way and add to your mixing bowl along with ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and chopped pecans.
¾ cup whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ cup pecans
Stir until everything is just mixed, meaning you should stop stirring as soon as there are no more clumps of dry ingredients. The batter will be quite thick.

Step 4: Bake and Cool

Grease a 9-inch round baking pan (using vegan butter/ margarine or cooking spray).
Pour the cake batter into the pan and spread it out into an even layer.
Bake in an oven that’s preheated to 350 °F for 35-40 minutes; until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake will be a medium-dark golden brown color on top.
Once out of the oven, allow the cake to rest for a couple minutes before carefully flipping it out onto a wire cooling rack.
Allow the cake to cool completely (a couple hours at room temperature) before frosting it.

Step 5: Prep Frosting and Frost Cake

To make the frosting, add vegan cream cheese, icing sugar (measured the same way as the flour) and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl (a bowl with high edges is best).
½ cup vegan cream cheese, 1 ½ cup icing sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Whip with an electric beater until smooth and there are no clumps of icing sugar.
You may need to add additional liquid to get your desired consistency – you can use plant-based milk or water, but add extra liquid extremely carefully (¼ - ½ teaspoon at a time) as frosting can go from too thick to too thin very easily.
When the cake is cool, place onto a large plate or cake board and cover with frosting!
Refrigerate leftover cake in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

This recipe makes a single layer cake; double your ingredients for a two-layer cake.

Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition