REGULAR BANANA CAKE-BREAD

Ingredients
½ C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1½ C very ripe bananas, mashed, approx. 3 large (can add in 1” chunks)
2 T buttermilk (regular milk is okay but buttermilk makes it lighter)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
2¼ C all-purpose flour
¾ C chopped pecans (or your favorite, walnuts, macadamias…)
½ tsp cinnamon or cardamom, optional
2 T raw (Turbinado) sugar, for topping, optional

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×5” loaf pan and set aside. Beat together softened butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs and bananas (I always just chunk the bananas in while the mixer is running and let it do the work) and add in buttermilk and vanilla. When blended, stop the mixer and add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon or cardamom (or both), if used. Mix together well. Carefully add in flour, all at once, while mixer is stopped. Very slowly stir in flour just until mixed. Add in nuts and blend gently, again, just until mixed. (Beating flour will toughen your banana bread. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle Turbinado sugar over top of batter. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes until done or until a wooden toothpick, inserted into center top of loaf comes out clean when removed. Add 5 minutes at a time of additional baking, if needed. After 10 minutes cooling, remove from pan to a rack. Cool completely before slicing. Warm slices in toaster oven for 3-4 minutes if you like, and butter to serve.