Victoria House
Bed and Breakfast

Spring Lake, New Jersey

Specialty Recipe

Banana Cake with a
Coconut-Pecan Topping

Cake Ingredients

2/3 cup soft butter

1-2/3 cups white sugar

3 large eggs

1-1/4 cups very ripe mashed banana

1 teaspoon Banana extract (if bananas are firm, add up to 2 teaspoons Banana extract)

2-1/4 cups flour

1-1/3 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/3 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup buttermilk

Topping Ingredients

3/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)

3/4 cup finely ground pecans (do not use walnuts; can reduce amount to 1/2 cup)

1-1/2 cups sweet coconut

1/3 cup soft butter

2-1/4 Tablespoon milk

Cream butter, sugar, and banana extract. Add one egg at at time, mixing on high speed after each addition (mixture should be light and airy). Mix in banana at low speed. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; whisk together. Add half of the dry ingredients to banana mixture and mix on medium speed. Add buttermilk; mix and scrape bowl. Add the balance of the dry ingredients. Pour in a sprayed glass pan and bake.

Topping: Mix together the sugar, pecans, and coconut with electric beaters. Add the soft butter and milk and mix together.

Once the cake is baked, place topping on cake by hand. Spread the topping over the cake. Best served warm, so broil on low until the topping starts bubbling, rotating cake for even browning and to avoid burning the coconut (putting cake in microwave instead prevents the crust formed when putting the cake under the broiler). Cake freezes well.

• You found this recipe on 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook. (www.virtualcities.com)