Sorghum Orange-Ginger Layer Cake

Tonight is a little gathering in the church community called Gallery Night, where friends come together with their artistic gifts and talents and share them with each other. Perhaps they're a painter, a singer, a crafter, a tapper, a baker, or perhaps  just an appreciator of all things artsy. The theme for the evening is "You Are Here". And this is what I made, and this is the poem that I wrote about it.

Gather the Goods
cake
2.5 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1Tb. baking powder
1Tb. ground ginger
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter at room temp
1.5 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. vanilla bourbon sorghum
2 large eggs
1 c. whole milk

frosting
 3.5 c. confectioners' sugar
5 Tb. heavy cream
6 Tb. unsalted butter
1 Tb. vanilla bourbon sorghum

extras
1 bar of orange dark chocolate, plus some chocolate chips
a jar of orange marmalade (I added some freshly grated ginger to mine)

Create
1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line the bottoms of three circle cake pans with parchment paper... you can also make this as a sheet cake using a 13x9x2 pan.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, ground ginger, fresh ginger, black pepper, and salt. In a large bowl combine butter and sugar. Beat the butter-sugar mix until it's light and fluffy for about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, add in the sorghum. Beat in eggs. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture bit by bit.
3. Pour into cake pans and let it remain for about 32 minutes, checking it to be sure of it's readiness.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting! Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, butter, and sorghum. Let it cool a bit, then pour it over the sugar, stirring all together until it's smooth.
5. As you assemble the cakes, spread a moderately thick layer of orange-ginger marmalade in between each cake.
6. Spread the frosting over the entire cake.
7. For the dark chocolate decorations, melt your chocolate in a double boiler, or in the microwave. Then pour that into a frosting bag or a secure ziplock baggy, cutting a tiny whole at the end. Draw out whatever design you wish on parchment paper, then put a small fan in front to aid in the drying. It'll take about 30 min. to fully dry. Peel it off and place it on!

and voila. cake!

enjoy!