Winter is officially here, which means it’s the perfect time for cosy and delicious food! Our Comfort Cooking collection is full of amazing books with seasonal recipes from expert foodies like Molly Baz, Josh Niland and more. Today we’re featuring a recipe for hummingbird loaf cake from In Good Company by Sophie Hansen — a book of deliciously do-able recipes and simple ideas for bringing people together.
Happy cooking!
Hummingbird loaf cake
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
There’s a lot going on here: toasted nuts, spices, pineapple and carrot, but it works beautifully together. This cake is so easy to make, lasts well for a few days (tightly wrapped in foil) and is lovely topped with a cream cheese icing and sprinkled with a few of the crumbled candied walnuts from page 58. I also love it toasted in a sandwich press and spread with a little butter.
Ingredients
2 cups (300 g) wholemeal plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (220 g) firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup (185 ml) vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (235 g) grated carrot
1 cup (115 g) walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1 ¼ cups (200 g) chopped fresh or tinned pineapple
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 30 x 12 cm (12 x 41/2 inch) loaf tin. Line the tin with baking paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder, spices and brown sugar in a bowl and whisk to remove any lumps. Whisk the oil, eggs and vanilla in a large jug, then fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the carrot, walnuts and pineapple and fold until combined.
Spoon the batter into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake feels firm to the touch and is just pulling away from the sides of the tin. Let the cake cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool.
—Images and text from In Good Company by Sophie Hansen; photography by Sophie Hansen. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.
In Good Company
Simple, generous recipes and ideas for get-togethers and good times
Country hospitality, deliciously do-able recipes and simple ideas for bringing people together.
Ask anyone to tell you about the most memorable meal of their life and they won't give you a chronological playback of what they ate; they'll tell you about how that meal made them feel. Whether it's a last-minute dinner with neighbours, a family feast or a casual summer picnic, Sophie Hansen has done the thinking for you and designed menus featuring 120 recipes that are simple, tasty and perfect for sharing...
What do we know about the Boy Swallows Universe Netflix show? 
Booktopia’s top thrilling fiction picks for Crime Month 
Booktopia’s Top First Nations Book Recommendations for 2023
Comments
June 1, 2021 at 6:46 pm
These were super easy to make. Thank you Sophie for sharing this fun baking item. I love following you and I enjoy reading about baked goods.