Chocolate-Glazed Banana Cake

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

Title: Chocolate-Glazed Banana Cake
Categories: Cakes, Chocolate
Yield: 12 servings

1 ts Vegetable shortening
1 tb All-purpose flour
3 c Cake flour; sifted
1 tb Baking powder
1/3 c Plus 1 tb butter; softened
Or
1/2 c Margarine; softened
3 lg Eggs
1 1/2 c Ripe bananas; mashed
1/3 c Low-fat buttermilk
Chocolate glaze:
Optional
1 c Unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 c Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 (1 oz squares) unsweetened
Chocolate
1/4 c Boiling water

Lightly brush 2 (9-inch) layer cake pans or 13x9-inch
baking pan with shortening, then dust with all-purpose
flour. Sift cake flour with baking powder and set aside.
Cream butter with sugar in large mixer bowl until light and
fluffy. Beat in eggs on medium speed 5 minutes, scraping
bowl down several times. Reduce mixer speed to low, beat in
bananas and buttermilk. Add dry ingredients all at once,
mixing only to moisten dry ingredients. Spoon batter into
prepared pans and bake on middle shelf of 350 degree oven
25 to 30 minutes, or until wood pick inserted in center
comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans, then turn onto
rack to finish cooling. For best results, wrap cooled
layers in film and ripen overnight before serving. Frost
with Chocolate Glaze or serve plain.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE: Sift powdered sugar with cocoa. Set aside.
Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering
water, or in microwave oven on HIGH (100% power) 1 minute.
Remove from heat, stir boiling water into melted chocolate
to make smooth paste, then stir in sugar-cocoa mixture.
Spread evenly while warm over cake layers.
VARIATION: For Banana-Nut Cake; Fold in 1/2 cup pecans or
walnuts with flour.
Frances Price, L.A. Times article, "Reviving Soul Food",
1/14/93"I've worked out new ways for old favorite [soul
food] recipes, considerably lightened in both fat and salt,
that preserve much (but not all) of that old-time flavor."

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