There are very few things in a mom’s world that inspire thoughts of decadence quite like a delicious dessert. I had the ultimate pleasure of recently indulging in a slice of Hummingbird Cake from Art Smith’s new restaurant Homecoming at Disney Springs in Orlando Florida. Being a native Floridian, this cake must be built into my DNA. I had to have more of it immediately, so I searched for way to re-create it. Because eating a whole slice of cake at once without my kids noticing is practically impossible I decided to make mini cupcakes so that I could pop one in my mouth as needed like Xanax.

It really is not a difficult recipe by any means. I even heard another mom recently call it “tropical banana bread”. It is a pretty old-school recipe, and even though it’s a classic it feels fresh and unique.

Start with preheating your oven to 350°F. Get out your muffin tins and pop in some liners (this should make around two dozen). Because it is October I went with cute fall cupcake liners. Sometimes (not often) I can be cutesy like that.

Mix your “dry” ingredients together first:

1 1/2 c of all-purpose flour

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Then add the “wet” ingredients:

1 large egg

1/2 vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Then mix in your fruit/nut ingredients:

1/3 c crushed pineapple

1/2 c finely chopped pecans

1 c smashed bananas

Fill your cupcake liners up halfway and bake for 14-16 minutes at 350°F. Pop a toothpick in the middle of a couple of the cupcakes to make sure that it pulls out clean and that they are cooked all the way through. Then set them out to cool thoroughly.

Cream cheese frosting*:

*No lie, mine came from the store. I have three kids so I just don’t have time for all things to be homemade. If you fancy making it yourself though, my friend passed along this simple recipe you can use.

1/2 c cream cheese

1/4 c butter

2 c powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Blend until yummy and creamy!

Go ahead and ice your cupcakes and add the decorations of your choice. I decided to stick with the fall theme and use Wilton candy sprinkles in leaf shapes.

Make sure to put them in an airtight container and seal them properly so that they can stay hidden in a nice dry dark place where only you can find them when the time is right!