Hummingbird Bundt Cake

"It is not what is poured into a student that counts but what is planted." -Linda Conway

It has almost been over 2 months since I posted last!!!  Now that this was officially the last day before Christmas break I can now post!!!  After one of those days where you are so busy you can't even find time to get up to go the bathroom this is what I decide to do to relax... blog again :)  I can't believe I've stayed away for so long.  Starting teaching has been rewarding and overwhelming all at once.  I love teaching and haven't regretted the decision to change from the job I had planning events for the last 4 years to teaching around 90 high school students every day.  I love the fact that after class students come to me to ask questions other than science questions, so many of them are truly looking for advice which is interesting because us "older people" often look down on them as if they won't listen to us... they listen way more than you know.  It has been exhausting and overwhelming though.  I went from my job I was well adapted to, to teaching 5 new classes and having to make everything from notes to tests.  Plus grading - oh my goodness I had no idea how much grading you do!  I literally stay up until about 10 PM every night catching up on grading and planning.  So thank you to all the teachers I had in my life I totally took you for granted!!!  That being said I finally found some time a few weekends ago to try out a new recipe - and a baking on at that!  For those of you following the blog for a while you know I'm more of a cook than a baker. I often feel like I can't experiment as much with baking but when I came across this recipe I knew just the tweak to make.  This is a Cooking Light recipe for a made over hummingbird bundt cake.  For those of you in the south you probably know what a hummingbird cake is but in case you don't it's basically a cake with pineapple, pecans and bananas in it.  The recipe originally called for a Bourban Glaze but I honestly think you can't have Hummingbird cake without cream cheese so I substituted a cream cheese glaze instead but it would probably be wonderful either way.  The recipe also made them in mini bundt pans which I did.  I think this would make a beautiful dessert for new years, or an nontraditional Thanksgiving dessert.  I won't keep you any longer since I'm sure you're salivating thinking about the yumminess... here's the recipe!  

On a side note another recipe to come soon - homemade cinnamon chocolate chip biscottis that one of my student's brought to class the other day!

Hummingbird Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze (makes about 7-8 small cakes)
(adapted from cooking light)
Baking spray with flour (really important that it has flour so it doen't stick)
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup chopped ripe banana
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple

Glaze:
1 stick of cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
milk (add to appropriate consistency)

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat 18 mini Bundt cups with baking spray.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cinnamon in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
Place granulated sugar and 12 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Fold banana, pecans, and pineapple into batter.
Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans
Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out with moist crumbs clinging
Cool 5 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans.

To make glaze:
In a mixer combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until fully combined
add vanilla and lemon juice
add milk until glaze reaches the perfect consistency
drizzle over cakes
serve - they are delicious!