Gluten Free Hummingbird Cake

Here is a recipe for Hummingbird cake, a family favourite flavoured with banana, pineapple and coconut. It is loved by both those who are gluten free as well as those who are not. This makes it very convenient.As oil is used in this cake rather than butter it’s also quick to mix.

I used to buy gluten free baking powder from a health food shop which was expensive. But I have recently discovered that Hansell’s baking powder is labelled gluten and aluminium free and this is cheaper.

It was adapted from an Australian Women's Weekly recipe.

Ingredients:

450 grams crushed pineapple in syrup

1 1/2 cups of gluten free baking mix (I used Bakel's)

1 teaspoon of gluten free baking powder (I used Hansell's)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ground ginger

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of desiccated coconut

1 cup of mashed bananas

2 eggs

3/4 cup of vegetable oil

Method:

·         Preheat the oven to 180C.

·         Drain the pineapple into a bowl through a sieve. Press with the back of a spoon to extract as much of the syrup as possible. Save 1/4 cup of the juice.

·         Sift the flour, baking powder, spices, and sugar into a large bowl.

·         In a second bowl beat the eggs with a fork, Add the mashed bananas, crushed pineapple, vegetable oil, coconut and the reserved pineapple syrup and stir to mix.

·         Combine the wet mixture with the dry ingredients in the bowl.

·         Pour into a 23 cm round tin which has been lightly greased and lined with baking paper.

·         Bake for 40 minutes at 180C. Let the cake cool down in the tin for ten minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to cool.

I don't always ice it because the cake itself is quite sweet but for the sweet toothed it can be iced with a cream cheese icing made with 30 grams of softened butter, 60 grams of cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar.

Beat the first three ingredients together until they are light and fluffy and then gradually beat in the icing sugar. Sprinkle the cake with chopped toasted walnuts or pecans.