1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil (safflower or canola)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans. Or, cut two circles of parchment paper, the size of the pans, grease the pans, cover with parchment paper and grease again. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together, set aside. Whisk in the sugar.

In another large bowl, whisk together eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil and vanilla extract.

Add the wet ingredients (egg mixture) to the dry ingredients (flour mixture) and stir or whisk until just combined. To get the best result try stirring on the same direction using a spatula; do not overmix. The batter is going to be quite thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake at 350°F for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Avoid opening the oven door in the first 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

After the cakes reached the room temperature, remove them from the pans. If you used parchment paper, take it off. If you can't take the cakes off the pans easily, try loosening the edges with a sharp knife.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

8 oz. Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces (about 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips)
3/4 cup whipping cream

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel or heatproof bowl. Set aside.

Heat the cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let the frosting cool for few minutes and then beat until soft and fluffy.

DECORATION:

Place one of the cakes in the serving dish and cover the top with 1/3 of the chocolate frosting. Place the other cake on top of the first one and cover the whole cake with the rest of the chocolate frosting. Decorate top with whipped cream or slivered almonds if you wish.

Variation: You can also make the cake in a rectangle pan of about 9x13-inch size, cover it with chocolate frosting and cut it into squares for serving.

Submitted by: Lucy H.