Gluten Free Hummingbird Cake

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 and whipped cream frosting inspired by the frosting for my gluten free chocolate stout cake.

The traditional version of hummingbird cake calls for toasted pecans, but I used walnuts, which worked wonderfully. I adapted it to be gluten-free with a mix of oat and almond flours, which produce moist and tender cake layers that are worth writing home 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!

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 pineapples, with not a shred of 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.
• That frosting. Well, what can I say? I love a cream cheese frosting. This one is a wonderful mix of heavy cream and cream cheese with just enough powdered sugar to add sweetness without being too much.

What You'll Need

Here's what you need for this cake. 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.
• Cream cheese - Use block cream cheese rather than whipped cream cheese for the best texture.
• Heavy cream
• Powdered sugar

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. Always rest your gluten-free cake batters! This allows the flour to hydrate, making for a better crumb. Make the batter, put it in the pans, and let it rest while the oven preheats to 350°F, or for about 15-20 minutes.
• Try reducing the sugar. If your bananas are very sweet, or you prefer a slightly less sweet cake, you can cut the sugar by ½ cup. Use very ripe bananas and ½ cup of brown sugar + ½ cup of granulated sugar.
• Refrigerate the cake. If possible, make the cake a day ahead and keep it, wrapped or covered, in the fridge. The layers are initially a bit delicate, and refrigerating will help them to firm up. And, the flavors will develop even more after sitting overnight.
• No need to bring the cream cheese to room temperature before using. This is contrary to many recipes, but because the heavy cream is also cold, it's not necessary. The frosting is not a buttercream, but more of a stabilized whipped cream - and it's delicious.
• Sift the powdered sugar. Always! This will help ensure a smooth frosting. Sift the powdered sugar into the frosting mixture to eliminate any lumps.
• Add more sugar to the frosting if needed. If you like a sweeter frosting, taste and add a bit more powdered sugar if you wish. Beat it in a tablespoon at a time, tasting for sweetness as you go.

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! I don't recommend freezing the cake because of the dairy in the frosting - it won't defrost well. So, enjoy it in the moment!