Hummingbird Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This dessert will have your taste buds humming. The hummingbird cake - most likely from Jamaica and named after the country's national bird, the streamer tail hummingbird - combines the natural sweetness of bananas and pineapple with pecans, cinnamon and ginger. In this recipe, a generous helping of salted caramel is sandwiched between three layers of the spiced banana-pineapple cake. And to top it off: a silky blanket of Swiss meringue buttercream (traditionally Cream Cheese Frosting).

Hummingbird Cake:
4 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached, sifted (568 g)
2¼ cups Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Granular) (446 g)
1¾ + 2 Tbsp. Erythritol Gold, packed (371 g)
1½ tsp. baking soda
2½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¾ tsp. sea salt
1½ cups pecans, toasted and chopped (171 g)
6 medium bananas, overripe, mashed
1½ cups or 1 can crushed pineapple, drained (398 mL)
1¾ cups vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Salted Caramel Sauce:
1 cup Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Granular) (198 g)
½ cup 35% cream, slightly warmed
1 tsp. sea salt

Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
5 egg whites
1½ cups Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Granular) (297 g)
3 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature (681 g)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp. sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Grease and flour three 10" cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of parchment paper.

For the Hummingbird Cake:
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, spices and salt. Add pecans and stir to coat.

In another large bowl, whisk together bananas, pineapple, oil, eggs and vanilla. Gently fold in the dry ingredients.

Spread the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out mostly clean and the tops have started to brown slightly, about 35-40 minutes.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
Heat the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it begins to melt and caramelize. Stir until the mixture reaches a medium amber colour and is fully melted, then remove from the heat. Stand back while you slowly add the warmed cream while stirring, and then stir in the salt. Pour the sauce into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool.

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
In the bowl of a stand mixer set over a pot of simmering water, whisk the egg whites and sugar until warm to the touch and the sugar is no longer grainy when rubbed between your fingers.

Place the bowl on a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat at high speed until the meringue has cooled to 70°F (20°C), 3-4 minutes.

With the mixer still on high, begin adding the butter, 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, incorporating after each addition and occasionally scraping down the bowl. Add the salt and vanilla and beat to combine.

Assembly:
Transfer about one qter of the icing into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Place one cake layer onto a cake stand or serving platter. Pipe a border on top of the cake about a ¼" in from the edge. Fill the area inside of the buttercream border with half of the caramel. Place another cake layer on top and repeat with more icing and the remaining caramel. Top with the final cake layer and spread the remaining icing on the top and sides of the cake.

Serve at room temperature.

Makes one 10" cake.