Banana Nut Fudge Cake

Banana Nut Fudge Cake
1½ cups sugar
½ cup butter or shortening
3 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ cups flour
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup toasted chopped almonds
1½ cups pureed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, almond extract, and vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients and stir in nuts. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with bananas, mixing well. Pour into  well greased Bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes in 350° oven. Let stand in pan for 10 minutes and then remove and cool completely. Can drizzle with chocolate glaze or dust with powdered sugar.

Tiffany's Notes: I made this cake recently as a small 6" layer cake for a hot chocolate party.  It filled 2 of the 6" round pans and also made 4 cupcakes. 

As you can imagine--this is a dense cake similar to a pound cake.  It might help to think of this as a chocolate banana bread.  It keeps well if you chill it.