My Aunt Marge and Hummingbird Cake

in , , , , on Thursday, November 3, 2011

 
August 1978
This was a surpise anniversary party for Mom and Dad.
Mom and Dad are dressed up because they thought we were going out for dinner.  Instead, all of her sisters and brother and spouses came down from Ohio to Louisville to surprise them.

From the left:
Aunt Beck (pizza post), Aunt Marge, Uncle Jake, Aunt Ruth (pie crust post), Dad, Mom, Aunt Frances (she is the only one still living and will be 90 years old in October).
That's Fritz celebrating also!



Aunt Marge was younger than Mom; actually she was the 4th one in line of Grandma and Grandpa’s 5 daughters and 2 sons.  That was one big family and in later years, it was really large with all of their kids and then grandkids but, we didn’t need to wear name tags!

You all have an aunt like my Aunt Marge, friendly, caring and down to earth.  She had a cozy home and always welcomed everyone into it.  I can hear her laughing now with her hearty laugh and a big smile on her face.  Aunt Marge loved antiques and had her share of them around the house and she had a green thumb also for plants.   

Aunt Marge married Uncle Bill and they went on to have 3 children.  You will see a picture of their daughter, Melody, at a young age if you go back to my post about “Grandma’s Fried Corn” on January 16th. 

Uncle Bill was a meat and potatoes kind of guy and that was a large part of Aunt Marge’s cooking ~ just everyday good, comfort food!  She knew her way around the kitchen!  But, the thing I liked most that she prepared was her homemade cakes.  I don’t know if she baked them a lot but, I do know when she baked one it was delicious and the best. 

Unfortunately, Aunt Marge is another aunt who left us way too soon, at a really young age, in her 50’s.  As I recall, she contracted spinal meningitis and was one of the very few cases of it in the United States at that time, passing away suddenly on New Years Day in 1981. 

So, because Aunt Marge baked great cakes, I am giving you a recipe for another great cake.  The cake is Hummingbird Cake and no, hummingbirds were not caught, chopped up and added to the cake; nor do hummingbirds fly out of it when you slice into it.  The theory behind its name is because people go “Mmmmmmmmmm” when they eat it; the sound a hummingbird makes when it flutters its wings.  Another assumption is the way hummingbirds are attracted to nectar, as people are attracted to the sweet taste of this cake.

Hummingbird cake is a retro cake going back to the 1970’s.  It is decked out with all sorts of good ingredients such as pineapple, pecans, walnuts and bananas.  What could be better?  This cake is moist and filled with flavor, just like a cake Aunt Marge would bake!


Photo credit ~ Evans Caglage


Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, well beaten
1¼ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
¾ cup pecans, broken
¼ cup black walnuts
2 cups bananas, chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat with an electric mixer.
Stir in vanilla, pineapple and nuts.
Add bananas.
Spoon batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9” round cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tests done when a toothpick is inserted in the center.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes.
Turn out on wire racks to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (16-ounce) boxes powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped, for garnish
Milk, if needed

Mix cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until the frosting is smooth.
Add a teaspoon or two of milk if too thick to spread.
Frost between the cake layers, sides and top of cake.
With a knife, make a circle around the top of the cake and place pecans in it.

Here’s to you, Aunt Marge!




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