Monday, April 9, 2012

Hummingbird cake pops


Sometimes I debate working out and studying for finals. Then I chose to bake.

For the cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped ripe bananas
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
1 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs , beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces) finely chopped walnuts, plus more for the topping
1/2 cup raisins

For the frosting: 

4 ounces cream cheese , at room temperature
1/4 cup butter , at room temperature
1/2 pound confectioners' sugar (about 4 1/2 cups sifted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the white chocolate part:

12 ounces white chocolate chips, melted in 30 second intervals in the microwave

To make the cake, position racks in the center and bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Lightly butter two 9" round cake pans, sprinkle evenly with flour and tap out the excess. (If you wish, butter the pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, then flour the pans and tap out the excess.)

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, stir or whisk the bananas, pineapple, oil, eggs and vanilla until combined. Do not use an electric mixer. Pour into the dry mixture and fold together with a large spatula just until smooth. Do not beat. Fold in the walnuts and raisins. Spread evenly into the pans.

Bake until the cake springs back when pressed in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the cakes to wire racks and cool for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks (remove the parchment paper now if using). Turn right side up and cool completely.

To make the icing: Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until combined. On low speed, gradually beat in the sugar, then the vanilla, to make a smooth icing.

Take the cooled cakes and, using an electric mixer, pulverize the cakes into crumbs. Fold in the frosting until a dough-y mixture forms. Form the dough into 1 inch balls. Dip in the melted white chocolate and place on parchment paper. Top with walnut crumbs. Let cool, then EAT!

Cake recipe from Oprah