If you love banana bread or carrot cake, you’re going to love these naturally sweetened hummingbird cupcakes! They have a delicious combo of banana, pineapple, and coconut, are naturally sweetened, and topped with a simple coconut whipped cream frosting! They’re also gluten and dairy free!
I had to find a yummy treat to showcase these pretty pineapple flowers, and these naturally sweetened hummingbird cupcakes were the perfect choice! If any of you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me make these flowers in my story. I first made them last year for fun and was waiting for the warmer weather came back to make something spring-y.
If you haven’t heard of it before, hummingbird cake is full of sweet fruit and warm spices. The flavor and texture is a cross between a banana bread and carrot cake…super moist and fluffy without being overly sweet. It was made popular in the U.S. when it was printed in an early issue of Southern Living Magazine, but it’s thought to have originated in Jamaica, hence the tropical flavors. The tropical flavors are what have me smitten with this cake too! Most hummingbird cakes have banana and pineapple, but I went the route of Martha Stewart and added coconut to mine. Chopped nuts are generally used in the cake as well, but I omitted them for my kids’ sake. 🙂
It’s generally topped with a simple vanilla or cream cheese buttercream, which allows the flavors in the cake to shine, and chopped nuts or pineapple flowers. Although they may seem a bit intimidating, the hardest part of making the flowers is waiting for them to dry in the oven. The result is absolutely worth the effort though. They’re not only gorgeous, but delicious too, like pineapple fruit leather. Just make sure you top the cupcakes with the flowers right before serving. When the dried pineapple come in contact with moisture, they can become soggy and flatten onto the cake.
The best thing about these naturally sweetened hummingbird cupcakes is that they’re made a little healthier using coconut sugar and oil. I also included a gluten-free version, and they can even be adapted to be vegan-friendly by using the egg substitution provided.
If you give them a try, please tag me in your pics on social media so I can see your creations! I love to see what you’re whipping up in your kitchens! Enjoy, friends!
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Naturally Sweetened Hummingbird Cupcakes
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 12-14 1x
Description
If you like banana bread, you’ll love these hummingbird cupcakes! They’re made with wholesome ingredients, and are free of gluten, dairy, & refined sugar. Can be adapted to be vegan friendly.
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Version:
- 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 baking flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
(OR USE 1 CUP ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR IN PLACE OF GF AND COCONUT FLOUR)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup dairy-free milk (I used almond) or other milk of choice
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
, olive oil, or other oil of choice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
- 1 egg*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
- 1/2 cup crushed or finely chopped pineapple, juice drained
- 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
(OR USE 
, olive oil, or other oil of choice
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 can coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight (I bought the one from Trader Joe’s. About 1 cup firm cream)
- 8 oz. dairy free cream cheese or regular cream cheese
- 3–4 tablespoons honey, coconut syrup, or other sweeter of choice (add more or less to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pineapple Flowers: (To be made ahead of time)
- 1 fresh pineapple
- parchment paper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with paper liners (preferably parchment liners so they don’t stick) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients—flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add wet ingredients—milk, vinegar, oil, egg, and vanilla, and mix well. Add mashed banana, pineapple, and shredded coconut stirring just until combined. Let sit for a few minutes for the flour to absorb the liquid.
- Fill each liner 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool thoroughly before frosting.
Whipped Coconut Cream Frosting:
- Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add hardened coconut cream and continue to beat until blended. Add sweetener and vanilla, continue to beat until fluffy. Add more sweetener if needed. Keep frosting refrigerated until ready to use.
- To decorate cupcakes, place frosting into a bag fitted with tip 2A (or into a large plastic baggie with the corner cut out). Begin piping in the center (to form a base) and continue to pipe along the outer edge of the cupcake, swirling the frosting upwards, like soft serve ice cream. Release pressure as you pull up to form a peak. Top with pineapple flowers right before serving (the flowers flatten with moisture).
Pineapple Flowers:
- I followed the tutorial from Martha Stewart
- Cut the top and bottom off of the pineapple. Stand upright and cut off the rind. Use a small melon baller or measuring spoon to remove all of the “eyes” and seeds.
- Slice pineapple very thinly. The thinner you slice the faster they dry. Place slices on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake in a 225° oven for about 25-30 minutes. Flip and continue to bake for another 25-30 minutes. Check and remove any that are thoroughly dried. Flip the others and continue to bake, checking and flipping every 20 minutes (some of the thicker slices took 2 hours in the oven) Remove the slices that are dried and place into a muffin tin so the edges can curve, like a flower. I keep them in the muffin tin for 1-2 days to ensure they hold their shape. Store flowers in an airtight container in the fridge or cool pantry for a few days.
Notes
*These worked with flax eggs (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water), but the cupcakes were more dense.
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Dessert, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free
You may also enjoy these similar recipes:
Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins
Simple Carrot Cake with Cashew Frosting
Chai-Spiced Cake with Fresh Figs and Caramel
Hi, my store doesn’t carry bobs gluten free flour. Could almond flour be used instead? Yes we
Hi Gillian, unfortunately no. Bobs Red Mill is a blend of gf flours and mimicks all purpose flour. Almond flour doesn’t have gluten or any binding power so the muffins would most likely be very delicate and fall apart easily. However, you can use another gf flour blend, like King Arthur’s measure for measure gf flour or another brand your store may have in stock.
I’d love to make these for a friend’s baby shower. They are gorgeous!! She doesn’t eat any sugars but fruit. Do you think I could replace the coconut sugar with puréed dates? Thank you!!
Hi Joylene, thank you! I think it would work, it might just make the cake more dense due to the added moisture. Maybe make a half batch to test beforehand just to make sure. If you find the cake too dense for your liking, you can try reducing some of the milk or try date sugar instead. Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try! 🙂
Thank you so much! I will let you know!
I did make these for the shower. I ended up using date sugar and added a little bit of the pineapple juice to compensate as the sugar absorbs moisture. I used a date cream cheese frosting recipe. They turned out like a beautiful delicious healthy muffin and everyone loved them. Also very beautiful with the pineapple flowers!! My boyfriend said they looked like a professional chef made them. ☺️ I made an extra batch and gave them to my pregnant friend to put in the freezer for when the baby comes and that made her happy.
Thanks so much for this recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Joylene, thank you for your review! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience! I like the substitutions you made too. I haven’t tried date sugar before but it sounds intriguing! So happy everyone enjoyed them and that your pregnant friend has a stash in her freezer! You’re a good friend! 🙂
The pineapple flowers are so lovely, I wouldn’t want to eat them! They give the cupcakes such a special touch. These would be perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day or any special event! All of your treats always looks so appealing, Joscelyn!
These cupcakes are absolutely beautiful! I never knew you could make pineapples look like that, what a neat trick!
Your photos are stunning! I love how you include tips on how to make it vegan-friendly as well as how not to make it gluten-free, this recipe really will suit everyone (and it looks yummy too but every recipe you make looks delicious!)
These look amazing! I cannot wait to try them. One question though, what are the measurements/ingredients for the whipped coconut cream frosting?
Thanks, Jenn! So sorry, I just edited it and must’ve accidentally deleted the measurements! Anyway, they’re back in there now 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions about it! Thanks for catching that!
oh these are absolutely stunning Joscelyn! love love!
Beautiful! I love hummingbird cupcakes, so pretty and tasty. I can’t wait to try your recipe!
Well this looks amazing! So delicious and very creative. I am pinning right now. 🙂
Aw, thank you sweet friend xoxo
These are so beautiful! Love the ingredients you used— definitely going to try soon!
Thank you my encouraging friend 🙂 xoxo
Your pictures are amazing! These cupcakes look delicious!!
These cupcakes are a work of art! Like seriously, I could see these at a wedding. They’re stunning and I bet they taste amazing.
these look too good to eat! but they sound delicious
Thank you Jasmine!
pineapple flowers?! wow, very pretty! I’m sure I will love these cupcakes, yum! xo
Thank you for the kind words Fatimah. Have a lovely weekend!
Oh my gosh those are GORGEOUS!!! Literally stunning! Who knew food could be such a work of art!
xo, jess
alljessedup.com
Thank you, Jessica! xoxo
These are so pretty and I love your pineapple flowers!
Thank you friend! You are always so encouraging!
These cupcakes sound heavenly! And those pineapple flowers are absolutely stunning!!!