When asked have you ever had hummingbird cake?? Most people will say no, what is it?? The most distinguishable ingredients that make this layered cake amazing are ripe bananas, crushed pineapple, pecans, cinnamon, and a slathering of cream cheese frosting. One of the first recipes was originally published in a 1978 issue of Southern Living and was submitted by a Mrs. L. H. Wiggins of of North Carolina. It is my favorite cake of all time, I will even order it if there is a layered chocolate cake on the menu. I decided that I wanted to make one for my birthday celebration with my family so I found a version of this recipe from Art Smith, chef and owner of Table Fifty-Two in Chicago, Illinois. Whenever my husband and I visit Chicago we always have dinner at Table Fifty-Two. Mmmm, they serve fried chicken on Sundays, have the best flat bread pizza, macaroni and cheese to die for and of course hummingbird cake. No matter how full I may be I have to order the hummingbird cake. A must visit if you are ever in Chicago. I made this a triple layer cake with three batches of the cream cheese frosting for between the layers, the crumb coat and the final frosting. To finish off the cake, I toasted about 1/2 cup pecans and finely chopped them in the food processor. I gently smashed them on the frosting around the bottom of the cake and sprinkled them around the top. After devouring the cake my husband and I agree that next time I will try to cover the cake in the chopped pecans for an added crunch with every bite. This cake has a wonderful banana flavor, it is very dense and moist, has a slight crunch from the pecans and is covered in a thick cream cheese frosting that is to die for. Here is the link to the recipe Art Smith’s Hummingbird Cake.