Mother’s Day Hummingbird Cupcakes

Name: Mother’s Day Hummingbird Cupcakes
Yield: makes 40
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 2 cups sugar; 3 large eggs; 2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large bananas); 2 cans (8 ounces each) crushed pineapple, drained; 1 cup walnuts (about 3 ounces), toasted (see page 323) and coarsely chopped; 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut (see Sources, page 342); Cream-Cheese Frosting (page 303); Dried Pineapple Flowers (see page 323)

January 24, 2012

Some say the hummingbird cake, a Southern specialty replete with pineapple chunks, bananas, coconut, and walnuts, earned its name because each otherworldly bite makes you hum with delight. Others hold that the cake is as sweet as the sugared water used to attract the tiny birds. Adorned with dried-pineapple “flowers,” the cupcake variation makes a beautiful presentation for Mother’s Day. To give the flowers a cupped shape (shown opposite), cool them in muffin tins as described on page 323 (instead of on a wire rack, shown below).

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