BUTTER PECAN BANANA CAKE

Our Friends' Couples Bridge group was scheduled to meet last Friday night at Friend Linda and Mitch's house. I had offered to bring a dessert instead of an appetizer. (surprise, surprise)

I had seen this cake in one of my Name Brand Cookbooks and kept going back to it. I thought it would be a cake everyone would like. I had to buy the butter cake mix and the homestyle frosting because I don't normally buy specialty cake mixes and frosting. I also had to buy some more pecans because I didn't have enough to put 1 cup in the cake and then another cup in the frosting.

Normally on Friday Friend Janice and I go to estate sales and lunch. She and her husband were having their family Christmas back in their hometown over the weekend and she needed to do some last minute shopping before they went so that gave me plenty of time to get the cake made that morning.

I should say that we were forecasted to get 1-3 inches of snow during the day and it was extremely cold. But I got the cake made and frosted and then about an hour and a half before we were suppose to leave, Linda called and said they were postponing due to the weather. Mitch had gone out and said the roads were getting slick and several couple who live north of Kansas City said it was really bad at their houses. I certainly understood and part of me wasn't surprised, but all I could think of was I had this huge cake and we didn't need to eat it all. 

Fortunately for me, Jeff came over the next afternoon returning dishes I had used for "treats" I had given him and his roommates to enjoy. I jumped up and asked him he he would like some cake. He said, "Sure!" So guess where half of the cake went. 

My husband has been enjoying it. In fact, he told me it was one of the best cakes I had ever made. He assured me that everything I make is really good, but this cake was one of his favorites. (It's one of mine also.) 

BUTTER PECAN BANANA CAKE

Cake:

1       package Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Golden Cake mix (I used a yellow cake to have the 18.25 oz cake mix. See UPDATE below!)
4      eggs
1       cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large or 3 medium)
3/4   cup oil
1/2    cup sugar
1/4    cup milk
1        teaspoon vanilla (I used 1 teaspoon butter flavoring since I used a yellow cake mix)
1        cup chopped pecans

Frosting:

1        cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/4    cup butter
1        container (16 ounces) Duncan Hines Creamy Homestyle Vanilla Frosting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 - inch Bundt or tube pan.

For Cake:

Combine the cake mix, eggs, bananas, oil. sugar, milk, and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans.

Pour into pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. 

Invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely. Place on serving plate.





For Frosting:

Place 1 cup pecans and butter in skillet.

Cook on medium heat, stirring until pecans are toasted.

(Be carefully as they will suddenly turn brown.)

Stir into frosting.

Cool

until spreading consistency.

Frost cake.

UPDATE!!!
This recipe was in my Favorite Brand Name Bake Sale Cookbook. The recipe called for Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix. The problem I ran into was that Duncan Hines is now making their cake mixes the smaller 16.5 oz size. I was a little concerned as to how or if the cake would turn out since it was a smaller size. I made the cake and it didn't rise right in the middle. I let it cool and then cut a piece before I frosted it and it looked and tasted okay. 

Today I made the cake again as we are having a make-up for our cancelled evening tonight. Today though the cake didn't turn out well. I guess I needed to cook it longer. I went to a different grocery store to see if they had the original DH deluxe cake mix and they didn't. They didn't have one cake mix by DH that was the 18.25. What they did have though was their store brand of a yellow cake mix that was 18.25 oz. I decided to get it and just substituted imitation butter flavoring for the vanilla flavoring. It worked perfectly. I have removed pictures of the first cake I made and have included pictures of the second cake I made today. (BTW, my husband is going to eat the first cake I made today. He just thought I should take something else tonight to share.)