Hummingbird Cupcakes

Mila's birthday is coming at me like a wrecking ball, which means I need to quick-like figure out what I'm doing for her birthday cake. Lest we forget, I have a habit of getting a wee bit carried away with that particular project. This year there's an extra twist, though. Mila is having her first party in 2 years (thanks, COVID) and she invited every person she knows plus their friends, family, and neighbors. Either there are going to be 10 kids at the party or 1000. I'm genuinely not sure.

Alas, I need to figure out cupcakes instead of full-on cake, and I need to figure out cupcakes that I want to eat because I might end up with a few dozen extra. Or I might not. Why would we believe in RSVPs so I can predict these things?

ANYWAY.

Hummingbird Cupcakes. I'm going to see if Mila might be game for Hummingbird Cupcakes as an option alongside the traditional vanilla and chocolate. I've made them probably once per year for a long time. The last time I photographed them was when I made them for an Alexis cheer thing probably 3 years ago? Maybe 4? It was before COVID.

Here's the original recipe for Hummingbird Cake. I didn't make any changes when turning it into cupcakes.

Hummingbird Cupcakes
(makes 36 cupcakes)

3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple (do NOT drain)
2 cups chopped bananas (about 4 small bananas)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir together with a fork or whisk.

3. Add the sugar and stir, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir until just barely mixed, then add in the pineapple (with its juice!) and bananas. Finish stirring.

4. Fold in the toasted pecans.

5. Spoon the cake batter into the cupcake liners. Each one should be about 2/3 full.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Top with cream cheese frosting. If you want, garnish with a few toasted pecans.