Georg's Ph.D. cake (aka Orange Cake with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting)

The cake before frosting
Sliced

Georg officially graduated from IU with two Ph.D.s on July 31st, 2008! To celebrate our marriage and his graduation, we had a little party for family and friends, and I made this special cake as one of the desserts. You can find the recipe here. I followed the recipe exactly, and even though it's a very labor-intensive cake, if you follow the directions and give yourself plenty of time, it's not too bad. I did use one less block of cream cheese and more powdered sugar in the frosting than called for; I wanted an icing that was less gooey and more under control. I decorated the sides with sliced almonds, lined the top with sliced strawberries, covered the top in toasted coconut, and made the lettering with Twizzler Pull 'n Peels, which just happened to exactly match the strawberries. It was very intensely orange flavored, and very rich...you only need a tiny slice, which is why the recipe says it'll serve so many people. It was very good though, especially if you like orange, and very pretty.