• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. (We used a 10 inch bundt cake pan which has a baking capacity of 12 cups.) This recipe makes about 8 cups of batter.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt for 30 seconds, set aside.
• In another bowl, add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and mashed bananas.  Blend and set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer, add the softened butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. 
• Gradually add the white and brown sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs one at a time mixing until the yellow of the yolk has blended.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid.  Mix just until well blended- be careful not to over-mix.
• Gently fold in the chopped pecans.
• Pour/scoop batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick can be inserted and removed with no crumbs or just a few crumbs attached. *Baking times may vary depending on size/type of pan, etc. Peek in as the end time approaches and adjust time as needed.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before turning out.

Caramel Glaze

• Using a medium size saucepan (deep enough to prevent boil over) melt the butter over medium heat.
• Add the brown sugar and the remaining ingredients and heat on medium high heat.
• Stir to blend, try to keep mixture off the sides of the pan. Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to low.
• Simmer for 6 minutes, checking often to make sure that it is not going to boil over. It should still be bubbling. After 6 minutes, remove from heat.
• Keep in mind that the caramel with thicken up a bit as it cools. You can pour it into a long glass casserole dish if you want it to cool more quickly. We often refrigerate to cool it off as well.
• Apply the thickened glaze to the cooled cake either with a spoon, or for more control, spoon it into a disposable piping bag (or ziplock bag) with the tip snipped away.
• Makes about 1 cup caramel sauce. It can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.
• Cake is fine to sit at room temperature in a cool place in your house for 1-2 days in an airtight container or under a cake dome.

  To extend freshness, after 1-2 days, you can move it to the refrigerator. However, for best flavor and texture, warm the chilled slices to at least room temperature before serving.