Family Favorites Friday: Banana Wedding Cake

My second oldest got married in January.  She made her own cakes and did a fabulous job!  Not wanting the traditional white cake (who really likes white cake, anyway?), she made a tiered banana cake and two mexican chocolate cakes.

The cake in the middle is the Marvelous Banana Cake

Today's recipe is for the banana cake she made.  We have made this recipe from my Southern Living Cookbook over the years and it always turns out delicious.  She made the cakes when she was home in December and froze them.  She frosted and decorated them the day before her wedding.  Beautiful and delicious!

For the frosting, we used the Fluffy Buttercream recipe from One Cheap Utah Chick.  It turned out great!  I did make it ahead and freeze it, then my daughter just re-fluffed it again before she used it.

Marvelous Banana Cake

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups sugar

2 cups mashed bananas

4 eggs, beaten

3  3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsps baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBSP bourbon or orange juice

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Cream butter, gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer.  Add banana; mix until smooth. Stir in eggs.

Combine flour and soda.  Add to banana mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Mix after each addition.  Stir in vanilla, bourbon or juice, and pecans.

Pour batter into 3 greased and parchment paper lined 9-inch round cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes our clean.  Do not over-bake.  Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans.  If freezing, wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil while still warm.  To help keep the cake flat, put on a cardboard cake circle before wrapping to freeze.

Yield:  One 3 layer cake