This amazing recipe for gluten free hummingbird cake is one you'll want to make again and again! A dense, moist, fruit-infused cake is topped with tangy cream cheese icing and sprinkled with toasted walnuts in a gluten-free take on a classic recipe.
A few years ago, I took a gluten free hummingbird cake to a neighbor's potluck, and it vanished within minutes - with good reason! It's a stunner of a cake, packed with juicy crushed pineapple and sweet bananas, and filled and frosted with a luscious cream cheese buttercream. The traditional version of hummingbird cake calls for toasted pecans, but I used walnuts; pecans would be lovely here, too. It's a stunner of a cake, with fluffy layers sandwiching that impossible-to-resist frosting I dream about.
Learn more about the origins of hummingbird cake below. For more beautiful layer cake recipes, see my gluten free birthday cake, gluten free chocolate layer cake, and gluten free unicorn cake recipes!
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What You'll Love
This cake received rave reviews from everyone who tried it, and I hope you'll feel the same! Here are some of my favorite aspects of this cake:
- The flavor. How to describe the flavor? It's reminiscent of carrot cake, but the cake gets its sweetness from mashed bananas and pineapple,s with not a carrot in sight. A bit of cinnamon and allspice add a lovely warm undertone.
- Simple gluten-free flour mix. Just two naturally gluten-free flours, oat and almond flour, make up the flour base for the hummingbird cake. This creates a beautifully dense yet fluffy crumb that is not at all crumbly or dry. More about gluten-free flours.
- Luscious buttercream frosting. Well, what can I say? I love a cream cheese frosting. This one is a wonderful mix of butter and cream cheese with just enough powdered sugar to add sweetness without being too much.
What is Hummingbird Cake?
Hummingbird cake is a banana-pineapple spice cake that originated in Jamaica and subsequently became a popular dessert in the southern United States. It is characterized by banana and pineapple in the batter, plus pecans and the other familiar baking ingredients (I swapped in walnuts for the pecans and made this a gluten-free hummingbird cake).
Why a hummingbird cake? I like to think it earned its name because it's so sweet - the combination of very ripe bananas and pineapple plus a good amount of sugar make this a sweet, really irresistible cake. But Wikipedia tells us the name comes from Jamaica's national bird, the scissors-tail hummingbird.
What You'll Need
An ingredients photo and step-by-step photos coming soon! Check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.
- Walnuts - You could also use pecans.
- Oat flour - Learn how to make oat flour or pick up a package at the store. If you can't eat oats, brown rice flour is a great alternative.
- Almond flour - Use finely ground almond flour rather than almond meal.
- Baking soda
- Spices - A mix of ground cinnamon and allspice.
- Salt - I use fine sea salt in this recipe, and table salt also works.
- Bananas - Use very ripe bananas for maximum sweetness.
- Crushed pineapple - I used
- Eggs - Use large or medium-sized eggs.
- Coconut oil - I used melted coconut (either refined or unrefined is fine). You can substitute a neutral olive oil or vegetable oil for the coconut oil.
- Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar is fine here, or you can use coconut sugar.
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla - Use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Butter - I prefer unsalted butter.
- Cream cheese - Use block cream cheese rather than whipped cream cheese for the best texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Milk - You can use whole or 2% milk.
Tips and Recipe Notes
- Use very ripe bananas. The riper the bananas, the more sweetness they'll give to the cake!
- Let the batter rest while the oven heats. Oat flour benefits from being given a bit of time to absorb the liquid in the batter. So make the batter, put it in the pans, and let it rest while the oven preheats to 350°F (You can skip this step if you're in a hurry and the cake will still turn out well.)
- Try reducing the sugar. You could probably get away with using just 1 cup of sugar total in this cake. As mentioned, the sweeter the bananas, the sweeter the cake. So if you want to cut down on the sugar, use very ripe bananas and 1 cup of sugar instead of 1 ½ cups total sugar.
- Bring the butter and cream cheese to room temperature before using. This is so important to make a very smooth and fluffy buttercream!
- Sift the powdered sugar. Always! This will help ensure a smooth buttercream. Sift the powdered sugar into the frosting mixture to eliminate any lumps.
Storage Options
Store leftover hummingbird cake, well-covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days. It's great served cold or at room temperature!
Recipe
Gluten Free Hummingbird Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ½ cups gluten-free oat flour (300 grams)
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour (150 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups mashed bananas about 4 medium-small very ripe bananas
- 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup melted coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups walnuts toasted and chopped
Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 ½-2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch pans and line with parchment paper rounds.
- In a large bowl, whisk the 2 ½ cups gluten-free oat flour, 1 ¼ cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon allspice, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt together.
- In a medium bowl, stir the 2 cups mashed bananas, 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, 3 large eggs, ⅔ cup melted coconut oil , 1 cup light or dark brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined. Stir in 1 cup of the 1 ½ cups walnuts.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, place in the oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out clean. Check at 30 minutes and bake a little longer if needed.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- Now make the frosting. In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer, whip together the ¼ cup unsalted butter and 1 8-ounce package cream cheese until fluffy. Add the 1 ½-2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons whole milk, then taste for sweetness. Add more sugar and milk as needed.
- Use the frosting to fill and frost the cake. Sprinkle the remaining toasted walnuts over the top of the cake.
Notes
- Use very ripe bananas. The riper the bananas, the more sweetness they'll give to the cake!
- Let the batter rest while the oven heats. Oat flour benefits from being given a bit of time to absorb the liquid in the batter. So make the batter, put it in the pans, and let it rest while the oven preheats to 350°F (You can skip this step if you're in a hurry and the cake will still turn out well.)
- Try reducing the sugar. You could probably get away with using just 1 cup of sugar total in this cake. As mentioned, the sweeter the bananas, the sweeter the cake. So if you want to cut down on the sugar, use very ripe bananas and 1 cup of sugar instead of 1 ½ cups total sugar.
- Bring the butter and cream cheese to room temperature before using. This is so important to make a very smooth and fluffy buttercream!
- Sift the powdered sugar. Always! This will help ensure a smooth buttercream. Sift the powdered sugar into the frosting mixture to eliminate any lumps.
Nutrition
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