Banana Layer Cake with Vanilla Frosting

By christoph

A delicious, moist old-fashioned cake.

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup ripe bananas (3 to 4), mashed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• Frosting:
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder (optional)
• 1-2 Tablespoons milk

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease and flour 2 – 9″ cake pans.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well to combine.

In a separate bowl combine bananas and buttermilk.

Sift together all dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar a third at a time, alternating with banana buttermilk mixture. Fold in nuts if desired.

Divide batter equally between the two prepared cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

To prepare frosting, mix together powdered sugar and butter with a spoon or a mixer on low-speed. Add vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of the milk.

Gradually add in just enough remaining milk to make the frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting becomes to thick, slowly add more milk a few drops at a time. If frosting is too thin, add small amount of powdered sugar.