For the cake:

• ½ cup pecans, chopped
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, combine pecans, cinnamon and sugar; set aside. You’ll bake the cake in either a tube or Bundt pan – whichever you choose, butter the pan generously.

In stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add mashed banana and vanilla, then sour cream. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and mix until well blended.

Sprinkle half of the pecans into your buttered cake pan; top with half of the cake batter. Top the batter with the rest of the nuts, and pour remaining cake batter over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, then remove cake from pan and cool on a rack. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.

Caramel Icing

• 6 tablespoons butter
• ¾ cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Sift the powdered sugar – for once, this is important, because any clumps in the sugar will result in lumpy icing. Melt butter in saucepan. Add sugar and milk; bring to boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and gradually add powdered sugar. The icing will harden quickly – if it hardens too quickly to spread over the cake, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time to thin. Pour over cooled coffee cake.