With children off from school for a few days, in between shopping and prepping for guests, why not bake some easy and filled with goodies hummingbird cupcakes?

These cupcakes take a short time to prep, mix and bake. You can pipe the cream cheese buttercream as you like.

Packed with crushed pineapple, raisins, ripe sweet bananas and crunchy pecans, these holiday pretty hummingbird cupcakes will nicely decorate your dessert table any time of the year.

They look festive and taste fantastic.

Easy Spring Hummingbird Cupcakes

2¾ cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

¾ teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of kosher salt

½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

¾ cup of canola oil or a neutral oil

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

1 cup of granulated sugar

2/3 cup of light brown sugar

¾ cup of coconut

2/3 cup of crushed pineapple, drained

1¼ cups of bananas, mashed (3 medium bananas)

2/3 cup of pecans, chopped

First preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep two 12-count cupcake pans, lined with cupcake papers.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In your stand-up mixer bowl, combine the oil, the two sugars, the eggs and the pure vanilla extract on medium speed until blended. Gradually add in your dry mixture on low speed. Now it’s time to spoon in the mashed bananas, crushed pineapple and chopped pecans. Mix all just to combine.

Divide your batter into each cupcake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick tests mostly clean. Remove cupcakes from the pans and place your freshly baked cupcakes onto a cooling rack before decorating them with your homemade cream cheese buttercream.

Cream Cheese Buttercream

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature

3 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

In your stand-up mixer bowl and with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Gradually add in your cream cheese and mix until combined. Pour in all of the sifted powdered sugar. Mix a little, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Next the pure vanilla extract goes into your buttercream that has taken shape. Beat on high speed for 3-5 minutes.

Enjoy garnishing your hummingbird cupcakes with your fresh cream cheese buttercream and topped with spring-colored sugar sprinkles, a small slice of candied pineapple with a thin slice of banana or anything you want.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (www.escoffier.edu). She is a former line cook for Chef Robert Irvine at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” which was located at the Downtown Allentown Market. Sarah is currently working as a Sous-Chef at Ateira’s on First and has her own blog simplysarah.online. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.