Hummingbird muffins
Makes: 12
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Ant Duncan
Hummingbird muffins
Recipe by Sarah Cook
If you’ve never heard of hummingbird cake, you’re in for a treat. Jamaican in origin and a favourite in southern US states, it’s flavoured with pineapple, banana and coconut, plus crunchy nuts. Catch excess glaze by lining tins with ‘tulip’ paper cases – see below for how to make your own
Makes: 12
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
329Kcal
Fat
16gr
Saturates
8gr
Carbs
41gr
Sugars
21gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
5gr
Salt
0.6gr
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Ingredients
- 50g desiccated or flaked coconut
- 75g pecans
- 300g plain flour
- 100g light brown sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 200ml pineapple juice
- 75g butter, melted and cooled
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 150g very ripe banana flesh, well mashed (freeze bananas overnight if not ripe enough)
For the glaze
- 25g full-fat soft cheese, at room temperature
- 25g butter, at room temperature
- 100g icing sugar
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5. Line the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin with tulip liners. Toastthe coconut in a frying pan over a medium-low heat for a few minutes until turning pale golden. Tip onto a plate immediately to stop cooking. Toast the pecans for 6-8 minutes in the oven. Let cool, then finely chop.
- Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in 40g of the toasted coconut and 60g of the chopped pecans. In a measuring jug, whisk together the pineapple juice, melted butter, eggs and vanilla, then stir in the mashed banana.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until very roughly combined. Spoon into the cases and bake for 18-20 minutes, until risen and pale golden. Cool on a wire rack until hand warm.
- Meanwhile, mash together the soft cheese and butter until smooth (a fork is easiest). Sift in the icing sugar and mash again until smooth. Mix in a teaspoonful at a time of hot water until you get a glaze that will just run, but isn’t too loose.
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Drizzle the glaze over the muffin tops and scatter on the remaining coconut and pecans to decorate. You can freeze the un-glazed muffins for up to 1 month. Defrost overnight, refresh in a low oven and then glaze to serve.Kitchen tipMake low-cost tulip cases for homemade muffins. Fold a 38cm square sheet of baking paper into quarters, repeat again then cut along the fold lines to give 16 squares. Find a tumbler that fits in the holes of your muffin tin, upturn then press a paper square over the base to form a simple cup, or pinch four pleats to create the tulip shape.
