Nana's Bodacious Banana Cake

This from scratch banana cake is perfect for an Easter dessert.  My mother made this cake and brought it to my house for my father's birthday dinner.  It was delicious.  I am calling it bodacious, because this is a big cake and it will serve a crowd.  It's a three layer cake, but if you are leery of doing stacked three layer cakes you can bake it in a sheet cake pan.   Since it was baked by my mother at her house, I don't have pictures for each step, but it's pretty self explanatory. Don't let the list of ingredients scare you off, it's not that complicated and it is well worth it.   Here is what you will need:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sugar
2 cups mashed bananas
4 eggs beaten
3 3/4 cup all purpose flour sifted
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. orange juice
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream oil, butter and sugar together.  Add mashed bananas.  Stir in beaten eggs.  Mix together in a separate bowl, sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Start adding the flour to the banana mixture and alternate with the buttermilk, ending with the flour.  Mix well but do not over mix.  Add orange juice, vanilla and chopped pecans at the end and stir into the batter.

Grease 3  9" cake pans.  Divide and pour the batter into the pans and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.   Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing.


Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup bananas mashed
1tsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup butter softened
1 16 oz. pkg. powdered sugar
4 Tbs. milk
1 cup flaked coconut toasted
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Combine mashed bananas and lemon juice, then cream with the softened butter.  Gradually add in powdered sugar and milk until well combined.  Stir in toasted coconut and pecans.  This should yield 3 1/2 cups of frosting. 

Frost the cake between each layer and on top, leaving the sides unfrosted.