When my fellah and I first made a concerted effort…
Hummingbird Cake (Paleo)
A lovely little bakeshop opened up in our neighbourhood a few years ago. It was not uncommon for my husband and I – pre-paleo days – to take a weekend stroll down to this adorable French-inspired patisserie. Afterall, its owners were purveyors of fine things, offering up pies, cakes, brioche, and macarons made entirely from scratch with carefully sourced ingredients (no mixes and no preservatives ever).
My husband’s favourite item on the menu was the Hummingbird Cake. I’ve since done a little research to determine how this sweet treat came by its name. While the origin of this particular cake is sketchy, what is abundantly clear is how quickly one is capable of devouring a piece of Hummingbird Cake!
Fast-forward a few years, and we’ve now embraced a paleo lifestyle, which means I don’t keep grains or dairy or legumes or refined sugar in our house. And we certainly don’t go out to consume grains and dairy and legumes and refined sugar (among other things now that I’m also mostly AIP).
My husband has been a tremendously good sport about all of this. Almost all of the time he eats paleo with me, and a good portion of that time he also eats AIP with me (rather a big deal for a man who loved his eggs in the morning!).
Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. Needless to say, he was deserving of an ample dose of spoiling, which included making him a paleo-version of his formerly favourite Hummingbird Cake. Paleo-fying this recipe has resulted in the most delightful deliciousness and, don’t mind if I do say so myself, is even better than the so-called “real deal.”
Do you have a special occasion coming up? Why not make this for your friends and family? I guarantee you’ll ooh and ahh and bond over something so incredibly good!
Hummingbird Cake (Paleo)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Martine Partridge
Recipe type: Treat
Serves: 12-16
Ingredients
- 2½ c almond flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 3 eggs
- ¼ c honey
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 medium bananas
- ½ c pineapple chunks, fresh or canned (but in juices only)
- ¼ c medium shredded coconut
- ¼ c chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease (a little coconut oil will do it) a 9-inch round springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a food processor, blend the bananas with the pineapple chunks, until you've achieved a mashed consistency.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs, honey, oil, and apple cider vinegar. Add the bananas and pineapple mixture. Then add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the coconut and chopped pecans. Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the centre is firm and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool 30 minutes before removing sides of the springform pan. Then allow the cake to cool completely before inverting onto a wire rack. Ice with whipped coconut cream or with Marshmallow Frosting (shown in picture) from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam (Elana's Pantry). Sprinkle with toasted coconut and chopped pecans.
