Banana Split Cake

I made this for my brother-in-law, Jake's birthday and it really hit the spot. I was acutally pleasantly surprised. I mean, I thought it would taste pretty good, but I acutally like it better than I thought. Here's how to do it.First you have to bake one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes in an oven safe bowl. It's the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa. I first saw it made on Martha Stewart many years ago, and it's been a family favorite ever since. (Straight from the website.)

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" chocolate cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

I just added the frosting for your future benefit, because it's awesome. But I didn't use it in the cake.

So, like I said, I baked it in an oven-safe Pyrex mixing bowl that was greased and floured for about and hour. As soon as it cooled, invert it and let it fall out of the bowl. Slice it horizontally into 4 layers. Use the same bowl it was baked in, washed and lined with plastic wrap letting the excess plastic hang over the sides, and place the top layer of the cake back in the bowl, just like it fits. Then you will need some Neapolitan ice cream. Open the box completely and carefully cut the layers apart. (I could've just bought entire boxes of each of the flavors, but we would've have tons left over we were forced to eat. Not good. And this was easy enough.) Take one of the flavors and spread it on top of the layer of the cake you place in the bowl. Place another cake layer and press it on the ice cream. Add another flavor of ice cream and repeat with another layer of cake, and another ice cream flavor, finishing with the final layer of cake. Fold the excess plastic wraps over the top of the cake, and wrap again. Place in the freezer for at least 3 hours before eating. I like to make it the night before. When it's time to eat it, get together all the toppings for banana splits that you like. Unwrap the cake and invert it onto a serving plate. You have to warm the sides of the bowl to help it fall out. I used a blow dryer for a few seconds (because I didn't have my blow torch handy), and pulled a little on the excess plastic wrap, and it popped right out. Cover the entire dome with whipped cream, and just have fun putting on the toppings however you want. The cake will be so moist and the flavor will have developed really well. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.