Do you want to tell someone special in your life that you love them from the bottom of your heart? How about bake up something sweet and totally irresistible for your wonderful mother, awesome girlfriends, or nutty but loveable sisters? (Mother’s day alert!) Please do your mother, girlfriends, sisters or those lovely ladies in your life a favor and I highly suggest that you make these captivating cupcakes for them. They will melt like butter in your hands. Trust me. These hummingbird cupcakes are absolutely gorgeous and a sinful treat that they will truly enjoy and appreciate.
Hummingbird cupcakes are a typical Southern dessert that’s been around for ages, and I recently had tasted one from Magnolia Bakery in Los Angeles. It was reminiscent of banana bread with sweet bits of pineapple and the hard to resist cream cheese frosting. I fell in love with the simple doctored up version of nutty banana bread and had to recreate it at home. The dried pineapple flowers garnished on top are a must-do if you are looking for that extra wow factor. I made a big batch of these cupcakes for my coworker’s birthday and shared a bunch of them with some special ladies in my life.
Simply scrumptious and equally exquisite for all those wonderful ladies. Happy (early) Mother’s day!
Hummingbird Cupcakes with Pineapple Flowers
Adapted from Annie’s Eats & Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon, ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana (3 large)
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped pecans toasted (optional)
⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs one at a time, and mix until fully combined. Add in the mashed bananas. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients on low speed until combined. Fold in the crushed pineapples, pecans and coconut with a spatula until evenly mixed.
Scoop about ½ cup of batter or less in the prepared liners. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Let cupcakes cool entirely before frosting.
Prepare the frosting: In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until well combined and smooth. Add the vanilla extract and slowly add the confectioners’ sugar until fully combined. Frost cupcakes as desired.
Optional: Garnish with pineapple flowers or use chopped pecans.
Dried Pineapple Flowers:
1 to 2 large pineapples, peeled
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line two baking sheets with baking mat or parchment paper.
Using the end of vegetable peeler, remove and discard pineapple “eyes.” Using a large sharp knife, slice pineapple crosswise into very thin slices. Transfer slices to prepared baking sheets.
Bake until slices slightly dry, the edges slightly curl. Flip the slices and bake the other side until almost dry. Carefully place the flower in a small muffin pan to form the shape of flowers. Let them sit out overnight and garnish on cupcakes when ready to serve.
Review: One of the best cupcakes that I have made in long time. They are moist and not too sweet and leave that lasting pineapple scent with you. I’m a big fan of red velvet cupcakes so I have officially fallen in love with this one. It has such a quirky and amusing name because someone even asked me if there are real hummingbirds in the recipe. I laughed and said no but they do sing “eat me now!” Something magical about these cupcakes brought a giant smile to everyone’s faces, the smell of the roasted pineapple flower was intoxicating and the overall presentation was truly unique.
