Hummingbird Hydrangea Cake

Double-Layer Hummingbird Cake Filled with Vanilla Buttercream and Frosted with tinted Buttercream Hydrangeas with Leaves

Hummingbird Cake is one of my favorites!  It seems I'm often looking for an excuse to bake this traditionally Southern cake...pineapple, bananas, and cinnamon.  What a delicious combination.

I needed to take cupcakes to a thing on Monday, but just about a dozen.  This particular batter makes quite a bit of cake so I knew it wouldn't be a problem to bake a small cake and bake the cupcakes.

Again, thinking ahead to Spring, I wanted something colorful.  Last summer we traveled to Venice, Italy and Murano Island - many planters and small patches of available land were covered with amazing Hydrangeas in bloom.  Yep.  That was colorful.

 [photo: http://www.thecandlelab.com/]
 

First, I stacked, filled, and crumb-coated the cake.

Then I began piping on the flowers in small clusters of two or three.  I worked alternating among four colors: lavender, blue, pink, and tangerine.  I kept aiming for balance and I think over-all I might have gotten there.

I added yellow centers...

 ...and a few light green leaves.

I'm not quite sure I got them just right on this one, but I can practice again.

It's a simple presentation, but I think it's working.