Chocolate Cake with Orange Buttercream (Page 744)

• Date: Saturday, June 9, 2007 -- 4pm
• Location: Soutboro, MA
• Kitchen: My Apartment
• Dining Companions: Matty, Matt, Vero, Emilee, Teri, Terry, Richard, Anita, Ephraim, Renato, Richard H, Alex, Glen, Chris, Danielle, Carol, Jessie, Victoria, Haynes, Angelica, Jack, etc...
• Recipe Rating: A-
  

I made this, the smaller of the two wedding cakes in The Book, for my graduation party. Despite the fact that the frosting definitely left something to be desired (see entry below), this cake was delicious. The layers of cake were moist, dense, and chocolatey. They had a rich flavor without being too sweet. Luckily, the filling between layers was a Grand Marnier scented ganache, rather than the icky frosting. The ganache was lovely -- it had a beautiful texture, a deep chocolate flavor, and the perfect hint of orange. I was serving more than 25 people, so I multiplied this recipe by 1.5 and cooked it in two 12 inch pans instead of 3 9 inch ones. It worked perfectly with that adaptation. I decorated the cake very simply, with candied oranges. This was not part of the recipe. If you swapped out the frosting in this recipe with one that tasted good, this cake would be a huge winner! The recipe is essentially the same as the one here, except that the cake in The Book is layered but not tiered, and the frosting is very slightly different (see entry below).

Today I finished making the bigger of the two wedding cakes in The Book. I never imagined that I would make both the wedding cakes in the same month, and neither of them for a wedding! The cake is ready for the memorial service tomorrow though, and I have safely transported it (and myself) to Southboro. I have thought about my eulogy, and talked to the caterers about the food order, so I think I am ready -- or at least as ready as I am ever going to be -- for tomorrow.

Funerals are always very emotional for me, and I have never been to one for someone I was so close to. I am anticipating a difficult day. I hope that I am able to keep it together enough to get through my words at the service. If I can't, though, I can't. I'm not going to worry about it now. Instead I think I will sleep...