Great Season Fusion!

This is my last season playing soccer. I know, you're thinking..."You've been playing since 5th grade, are you sure you can quit???" We all know I've tried to quit at least 2 other times in my life, and I always come back to it. But, this time is different. Life is much busier now and I have other things demanding my attention - especially cake-related things. Between labwork, teaching cake decorating classes, and decorating my own cakes, I just don't have time to make it to practices anymore. In any event, I made a cake this weekend to celebrate a great season with my teammates. We played the first game of the tournament on Sunday and lost, unfortunately, but I don't think that completely knocks us out of the tourney. I think the cake helped cheer everyone up - at least a little bit!

This cake is a yellow cake flavored with some orange zest so it has a hint of orange flavor. The buttercream was also flavored with Grand Marnier and orange juice concentrate. In between cake layers, I put a thick layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache. Next time I make this cake, I probably won't put the ganach in the center...I don't really enjoy a hard chocolate center. I like cakes with a soft, mousse-like center.

Adam had to guard the cake with his life during the game. It started raining midway through the first half so he had to run the cake to the car and then go back to get it when the game ended. He's my special assistant! Not only is he good at washing dishes and running to Publix for forgotten ingredients, but is also good at transporting cakes!