Spring

Fresh Orange Hummingbird Banana Loaf Cake with a Buttermilk Glaze

by:
March 31, 2018
5
1 Ratings
Photo by carrie
  • Makes 2 4"x6" loaves
Author Notes

Fresh southern flavors with a west coast twist. This time of year our kitchen is full of fresh oranges from a tree in our California urban garden. Fresh off the tree - awesome. Working that freshness into a banana cake loaf - even more awesome! I love the flavors of a traditional hummingbird cake. Here is an easy twist on the old classic using a garden fresh orange. This recipe was originally adapted from Joanne Chang's, Flour's Famous Banana Bread. —carrie

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Orange Hummingbird Banana Loaf Cake
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum
  • 3 tablespoons buttermilk (low fat is fine)
  • 4 medium sized ripe bananas
  • 1 medium fresh orange - zest and pulp
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 handful sweetened coconut
  • 1 handful chopped pecans
  • Buttermilk Glaze
  • 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Mix together all dry ingredients except the light brown sugar and pecans in a small bowl.
  3. Peel and mash bananas until they are almost liquid. I use a potato masher.
  4. Zest the orange. Supreme the orange and then break the segments into bite sized pieces.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the light brown sugar until they are light and frothy. Add in the rum and the buttermilk stirring until incorporated. Gradually add in the oil. Stir in the mashed bananas, orange segments and orange zest.
  6. Fold the remaining dry ingredients, except the pecans, into the wet mixture. Once incorporated, pour into 2 greased 4"x6" loaf pans. One large loaf pan works fin too.
  7. Sprinkle the pecans on the top of each loaf and bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Bake for longer if using a large loaf pan.
  8. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pan and continue cooling.
  9. Make the glaze by adding the buttermilk to the sifted powdered sugar. Stir vigorously to remove any clumps. Pour on top of each loaf.
  10. Enjoy!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Eva Williams
    Eva Williams
  • BerryBaby
    BerryBaby
  • robbie
    robbie
  • carrie
    carrie

5 Reviews

Eva W. May 6, 2020
Wow! This is fabulous...my new favorite banana bread recipe. I can't rave enough! And I can't believe no one else has tried this and let you know how good it is. I am a huge fan of orange but having lived my whole life in the Northeast, the idea of putting orange segments in a baked good was very foreign. Let me tell you...Amazing! It's a revelation! I actually peeled and cut the orange into bite sized pieces with a knife so there was less membrane. And subbed Southern Comfort as I had no Rum. I also used Coconut oil. And I did use 1 tsp baking soda You've got to try it!
 
BerryBaby May 3, 2018
Carrie, that’s a beautiful photo. Going to try your recipe sounds delicious! BB
 
carrie May 3, 2018
Thank you so much! Please add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the dry ingredients. I somehow managed to leave it out.
 
robbie April 28, 2018
Delicious!! but I did not know what to do with the coconut. I put some in the mix and some on top with the pecans.
 
carrie April 6, 2018
Just realized I left out 1 teaspoon of baking soda - oops! Sort of critical.