Black Walnut Banana Cake

I’m not a frequent cake baker, but I had all the ingredients for this recipe; and if I bake a cake, my husband wants something moist and nutty.  He also likes frosting, but it would be good, in my opinion, just dusted with powdered sugar.  I used my favorite Brown Butter Frosting.   
I like the idea that it is a smaller cake.  You could sprinkle nuts on your frosting too.  I thought this cake would be white, but with the very yellow-yolked farm eggs from Don, and the bananas, it turned out to be more of a light yellow cake.
After all the black walnuts we had to crack for Mom to bake with when we were kids, I don't think Myrna even likes them anymore, but they add a different flavor than English walnuts, and you should try them if you can find them.  Our neighbor's tree drops the nuts right on our mailboxes, and the mailman husks them for us when he drives over them.                  

Black Walnut Banana Cake

  1 ½       Cups  Sugar

     ½       Cup  Butter -- or shortening

  2           Large  Eggs

  1           Cup  Bananas -- thinly sliced

  1           Teaspoon  Vanilla Extract

     ¾       Cup  Sour Milk -- sour with 2 tsp. lemon juice

  1           Teaspoon  Soda

  2           Cups  Flour, All-purpose

  1           Teaspoon  Baking Powder

  1           Cup  Black Walnuts -- finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cream together sugar and fat.  Beat in eggs, bananas, vanilla, sour milk and soda.

Sift together and beat in flour and baking powder mixture.

Add nuts.  Pour into greased and flour 9 x 9" cake pan.  Bake 45-50 minutes.

9 Servings

  "More-with-Less Cookbook"

Brown Butter Frosting

                        For 8" or 9" Square Pan

  4        Tablespoons  Butter

  2               Cups  Powdered Sugar -- 8 ounces

  1           Teaspoon  Vanilla

  2       - 2 1/2 Tablespoons  Milk or Cream

Melt tablespoons butter in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter just starts to turn golden (4 to 6 minutes). (Butter will get foamy and bubble.) Remove from heat. Cool completely.

Combine browned butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in small bowl. Beat at medium speed, gradually adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake.