Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting

So, anyway, now I am in a more stable environment, with a nice, luxurious kitchen, and plenty of free time to bake to my little heart's delight. Which I've

missed. So today I made up for lost time and baked my Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting. I was very excited about this cake because my very favorite cupcake at Sprinkles is the banana chocolate one. I adore banana cake, breads, and pies of all variety. And I really get a kick out of mashing up the bananas. It's soothing.

I decided to make my cake in bundt form and I added a 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the flour mixture because I love cinnamon and I find that it makes almost all baked goods (especially those containing fruit) tastes even more delicious. As the cake was baking it smelled so good, like a bakery! As for the frosting, at first I was not that impressed. I did not think it tasted chocolate-y enough and I thought it was a little difficult to spread. However, after the frosting had set and I took a bite of the cake I decided that the frosting was almost like the glaze on a chocolate iced cake donut and therefore I decided it was delicious and a nice complement to the banana cake. Seriously, that banana cake is goood!

And don't worry...I'm still going to make my CSB cake for May as well...it's coming!

Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (my addition)

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (that's about 3 large bananas)

1 stick butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half

4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your baking pan.

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon (optional) with a fork. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Beat for 2-3 minutes. With a wooden spoon or spatula stir in half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Gently fold in the mashed bananas and pour the batter in the pan(s).

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back and the sides start to pull away. My bundt cake took about 45 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then turn it out on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the frosting put the butter, milk or half-and-half, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil on medium heat, then lower the temp and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and being careful not to burn. Then remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Using a mixer, beat the frosting until it is well mixed and thick.

Then frost your cake and eat it up!