Dr. Bird Cake

The world-famous hummingbird cake has its origins in Jamaica, where it is also known as Dr. Bird Cake. The interweaving of both pineapple juice and pineapple chunks with spices and banana produces a craveable cake, which is bolstered with crunchy pecans and a creamy frosting. The cake’s history goes back to the 1960s when the Jamaican Tourist Board, looking to foster tourism as a means of creating a new stream of income, utilized fruits of the island—yes, banana and pineapple—in a cake recipe. This recipe distributed to the media sought to spread the word about the island’s remarkable produce. The spiced banana-pineapple cake was named after the country’s national bird, the hummingbird, colloquially known as the doctor bird. Food editors, particularly in U.S. Southern states, got hold of the recipe and from there it rapidly became part of the annals of American cooking, and then the world’s. Upon tasting the cake it’s evident why it has attracted so much attention over the years.

Note: This Dr. Bird cake recipe makes a single layer cake that’s ideal for snacking. If you’d like a double-layer cake, use two 9½" round cake pans and double all ingredients for both the cake and frosting.