Banana Spice Cake

BANANA SPICE CAKE

Preparation time: 20 min. Baking time: 1 to 1 1/4 hrs. Oven temperature: 350 F. This handsome cake is moist and has a lovely banana aroma. For best flavor, be sure bananas are very ripe - they should be speckled with brown and feel soft to the touch.

For 1 cake you will need:

1 c. butter, softened 1 c. granulated sugar 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed 1 tsp. vanilla 4 eggs 1 c. mashed ripe bananas, about 2 med. 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. each baking powder and ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. ground cloves Lemon Glaze (optional) (recipe follows)

LEMON GLAZE:

1 c. powdered sugar 2 tsp. soft butter 1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind 2 tbsp. lemon juice

GLAZE: Mix powdered sugar, butter and lemon rind. Gradually mix in 2 tbsp lemon juice, mixing until smooth and well blended. CAKE: In a large bowl cream butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in bananas. Mix flour, baking powder and spices. Blend into banana mixture. Spread in a greased, lightly floured 9 inch (9 to 10 c) tube pan. Bake at 350 until wooden pick inserted in thickest part comes out clean, about 1 hr. Cool in pan 10 min, then turn out onto a rack to complete cooling. When cool, drizzle with lemon glaze, if you like.

This is a favorite at our house. Don't skip the glaze-- the lemon gives the cake a nice tang.
 * NOTES*****************

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog...... Dwight D. Eisenhower

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 * Catsrecipes Y-Group