Banana Split Cake

Banana Split Cake! Whose Birthday's Next?

1 cup butter
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (1 large)
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup strawberry preserves
Few drops red food coloring
1/2 cup preseweetened cocoa powder

Glaze
8 oz. chocolate chips
6 oz. butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease and flour a 10" bundt pan. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a separate and small bowl, combine banana, sour cream, milk and vanilla; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add eggs, on at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and banana mxiture to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

Prepare two small bowls. In the first small bowl, stir together 1 cup of the batter, the strawberry preserves, and red food coloring. In the second small bowl, stir together another 1 cup of the batter and the cocoa powder. Spoon half of the remaning plain batter into the preapred 10" bunt pan. Add strawberry batter. Top with remaining plain batter, then chocolate batter. Use a narrow metal spatula to gently swirl the batters.

Bake 55-65 minutes until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool comptely on wire rack about 90 minutes.

Glaze

In a small saucepan, heat chocolate and butter together until just melted. Take off heat. Continue stirring until melted and shiny. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Recipe adapted from Holiday Baking 2006, Better Homes & Gardens.