In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the eggs and mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the ripe bananas and vanilla extract and mix again for 2 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the creamed banana mixture alternately, mixing between each addition.
Fold in the chopped pecans.
Spoon the cake batter into the two prepared pans evenly.
Sprinkle the tops with the shredded coconut.
Bake 15 minutes. Then cover the cake pans loosely with foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cake tests done.
Cool the cakes in the pans, then turn them out to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), cream the butter until it is almost white in appearance. Add the powdered sugar, extracts and heavy cream. Beat well until light and fluffy.
Place one cake on a cake plate with the coconut side down.
Spread some frosting on top of this cake.
Place the second cake layer coconut side up on the first cake.
Frost the sides of the cake with the frosting. Frost the outer top edge of the cake (about 1-2” around the outer edge depending on how much frosting you have left). Leave the center of the cake unfrosted to show the coconut top.
Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Recipe Source: Clipping from Taste of Home magazine found in my grandma’s cookbookThe calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**