Autumn Spiced Banana Cake

Leopard Apron's Note:

I buy bananas with the idea of eating them right away, but somehow I always end up with a couple that have ripened too much for my taste. I ran across a recipe for Spiced Prune cake in Food Everyday which I baked and it is delicious. So, as most of us cooks do, I decided to try a variation with, you guessed it, bananas! Many combinations of fruit & nuts would be fun to try, pears, pecans, etc....enjoy!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 2 cups flour , spooned and leveled
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 bananas , ripened and chopped
• 1 cup english walnuts , coarsely chopped
• confectioners' sugar , for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a nonstick 12 cup Bundt pan with baking spray; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, spices, salt & baking soda. In a separate mixing bowl, combine oil, buttermilk and eggs. Whisk together and add to flour mixture; mix just until combined. Add in chopped bananas and walnuts; stir gently to blend.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and cake has puuled away from edge of pan, about 55 minutes.
4. Let rest in pan about 5 minutes. Invert cake onto a coolong rack and let cool completely.
5. Place on a pretty cake plate Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream - Yummy!