Banana Spice Cake with Toasted Walnuts and Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions

1. For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans.
2. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
3. In a large bowl using a stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy, about 1 minute. Gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the bananas. The mixture will look curdled - that is okay.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture; there should be three additions of the flour mixture and two of the buttermilk.
6. Pour batter into prepared pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula to make even.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven; cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning onto cake racks. Cool completely before frosting
8. For the frosting: In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the cheese and butter until fluffy, about a minute.
9. Add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
10. Add the vanilla extract and mix well; add milk if necessary to achieve spreading consistency.
11. Frost cake; top cake with toasted walnut pieces.