Hummingbird Cake Swiss Roll

It was Mother’s Day there at the weekend, as I’m sure you’ll know (if not, go and buy her something NOW and apologise!). Mum was coming up for dinner and I wanted to make her something special for dessert.
I always like to incorporate some of her favorite ingredients into cakes I make for her. At her birthday I like to do some carrot cake variation as you may remember.
She loves pineapple, so I was thinking along the lines of a hummingbird cake. Hummingbird cake is a sweet tropical treat, incorporating pineapple and banana. There is also cinnamon and pecans going on in there too. I’ve also seen coconut in some variations.

 I decided to turn the cake into a swiss roll, making a sponge a bit like when I made the carrot cake swiss roll for her birthday a couple of years ago. That was adapted from the Carrot Cake Swiss Roll from Crazy for Crust and this was too.
I blitzed up some banana and crushed pineapple to add to the cake batter, which I poured into my cookie sheet. It measured about 10” by 15” and has a rim all around, so the batter didn’t leak everywhere. I lined the tray with foil which is backed with greaseproof paper, ideal for this recipe.
As soon as it was baked, I inverted it onto a clean tea towel, dusted with icing sugar and peeled the paper/foil away. I then rolled it up tightly in the tea towel and allowed it to cool for several hours. This way, the cake will hold itself in a roll shape a lot easier.

For the filling I combined cream cheese, sugar and double cream and added some desiccated coconut and chopped pecans. I spread this on the cooled unfurled cake and rolled it up again. I wrapped the tea towel around the cake tightly, then unwrapped it ready to be devoured.
Mum loved the cake, the flavours of the fruit came through well, and the cinnamon was a lovely warming note. Plus the creamy coconut and nutty filling was a big hit.
Swiss rolls, I’ve decided aren’t half as scary as I thought. As long as you wrap and roll as soon as it’s out of the oven, you are good to go. If you have any questions at all on how to make this, please do get in touch.
Here’s how I made it…
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Hummingbird Cake Swiss Rollby S Vettese March-10-2016Pineapple and banana roll cake with a creamy coconut and pecan fillingIngredients

• 3 medium eggs
• 150 grams granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 100 grams plain flour
• 1 medium sized ripe banana
• 150 grams crushed pineapple
• 110 grams full-fat cream cheese
• 60 grams icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 250 ml double cream
• 30 grams desiccated coconut
• 30 grams chopped pecans

InstructionsPreheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line a 10"x15" tray with a rim, with greaseproof paper.In a mixing bowl beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla until smooth.Sift together the salt, baking powder, cinnamon and flour and add to the wet mix. Fold in until no dry mix is visible.Mush the banana with a fork and mix with the crushed pineapple. Measure the mixed fruits in a measuring jug up to the 250ml mark (or a 1 cup measure).Add the fruit mix to the cake batter and fold in until combined.Pour the batter onto the prepared baking tray and place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.whilst baking, take a clean tea towel and sprinkle with icing sugar.When baked, tip the cake onto the tea towel, and peel off the greaseproof paper. Quickly roll the cake up tightly from the shortest (10") side.Leave the cake to cool completely and in the meantime make the filling.Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, double cream and vanilla until thick. fold in the coconut and pecans.Carefully unfurl the cake from the towel and spread the cream mix on top, evenly to the sides. Roll the cake up again and wrap the outside with the towel.After 10 minutes, unwrap the cake and cut into slices to enjoy!DetailsPrep time: 1 hour Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 6 servings approx.