Banana Nut Cake with Vanilla Butter Frosting

It’s spring, and when I found this photo, I knew this would be the perfect time to share this one. Everything about this photo cracks me up. Just look at it! Ha! It’s springtime, obviously, because I have on my little spring coat, my white boots, and there’s a scarf on my head. And I’m wearing sunglasses – the red is so chic! This was taken at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. I must have been lucky enough to catch one of the barn cats (or someone caught it for me). I’m thinking that because I’m holding the cat, it must have been my dad or my grandpa who took the photo, because my mom has a cat phobia. (She may not even comment on this post, that’s how bad it is! She won’t want to look at it.) I must be about 3 or 4 years old here, and I just love the corn crib and Grandpa’s old green truck in the background. That truck was so great – I loved riding with him in that truck. We would drive into the small town near their farm, pick up things at the store that Grandma needed, and get me a treat, too. If you hit bumps hard enough in that truck, you’d hit your head on the ceiling! It was so fun!

Today’s recipe for Banana Nut Cake with Vanilla Butter Frosting is another one that Grandma kept that has my name on it. I have to honestly say, I don’t know when or where I got this recipe. I don’t remember ever making a banana cake, but I know why she kept this one. It’s so good!

This cake has such a great banana flavor!

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Banana Nut Cake

Mix together:

2 cups flour

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup shortening (I used butter)

2/3 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

3 ripe mashed bananas

2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend 30 seconds on low speed, then 3 minutes on high speed.

Grease and flour cake pans: 9″ x 13″, 3-8″ pans, or 2-9″ pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Vanilla Butter Frosting

1/3 cup butter, at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 Tablespoons milk

Mix all together and spread on cake.

(If making a layer cake, I would make a double batch of the frosting. This barely covered the 9″ x 13″ cake.)

Bananas and walnuts – so good together!

Before and after baking – it turns a nice, golden brown.

Full disclosure – I was 1 cup short on powdered sugar and under a time crunch, so instead of taking the time to run to the store for more, I tried making my own at home. Did you know you could do that? I “Googled” it and found out how to do it here. I knew my blender wouldn’t be powerful enough, so I tried it in my food processor. Not so great (I don’t think that was powerful enough, either), but I used it anyway, and it just got to be a bit grainy (more than real powdered sugar would be).

It may have made a bit more frosting if I had the extra cup of powdered sugar, but there was enough to cover the whole 9″ x 13″ cake.

This is a very tasty, very banana-y cake. It’s easy to make and delicious, and I don’t know where I ever got it from, but I’m glad I found it again, here in Grandma’s recipes!

 

 

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