Hummingbird Cheesecakes

Hummingbird Cake. To coconut or not to coconut, that really is the question. My Mother has made Hummingbird Cake with Coconut from a Southern Living recipe for as long as I can remember. It was always perfect for a party. A three layer cake that tasted FABULOUS. Kind of like a crowning glory. Perfect in presentation. The cake could even be made the day before. If you had any problems, you put the cream cheese frosting on it, coated the sides with coconut or crushed pecans, and no one knew the difference.

So when I came across this recipe, I thought, nuggets of springtime love. 

Perfect for a shower or party

Hummingbird Cheesecakes
Adapted from mangoandpalmtrees.com
Make 5 dozen Mini muffins

Ingredients
Cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pureed pineapple
1/2 cup pureed bananas
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

Cheesecake
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Directions
Place a shallow roasting pan or baking sheet in the center of the oven's bottom rack, and pour enough hot water into the pan to come up 2 inches up the sides. (THIS keeps the cheesecakes from drying out or over browning.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the Hummingbird Cake batter, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon in a mixing bowl and whisked together until evenly combined. Add the eggs and oil to the dry mixture. Stir until just combined. Add the vanilla, pineapple, bananas and nuts for the mixture. Stir to combine.

To make the Cheesecake batter, place cream cheese in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment. Beat until smooth. Add the sugar, beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. Turn to low, and add the eggs one at a time. Add Sour cream or yogurt, the lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt. Increase speed to medium and blend for 3 minutes.

Line a mini muffin pan with liners. In the bottom of each cup, place 1 teaspoon of Hummingbird cake batter. Top with 2 teaspoons of cheesecake batter. DO NOT SWIRL.

Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes . Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 more minutes. Then transfer the cheesecakes to a cooling rack.

Allow cheesecakes to cool completely. Garnish with a squirt of frosting, coconut, or nuts. Serve.

This was the first layer of the cake, placed in the mini muffin pans.

The roasting pan with the water underneath really was important. NONE of the cakes cracked.

Plain guy ~~ there is no Coconut in him

Shot of frosting on top

 I really liked these. Very light, perfect for Spring.