TBT Recipe: Banana Black Cake - Cooking by the Book

Ingredients

• 10 ounces (3 cups) walnuts
• 10 ounces (1 ½ cups, firmly packed) pitted dates, soft and moist
• 2 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1-pound jar (1 ½ cups) seedless blackberry jam
• 5 medium-size fully ripened bananas (to make 2 cups, mashed)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ⅓ cup buttermilk
• 5 ounces (1 cup) dark raisins
• Optional: confectioners’ sugar (to sprinkle over the cake)