The only thing that speaks to my heart a decadent layer cake like this chocolate Oreo beauty is a good story in the form of a Jane Austen-esque romance. Both are so worthy of being devoured.
I could whip up a box cake mix in a 13x9-inch pan and top it with some canned icing. Or, I could devote hours to the creation of a homemade layer cake. I could watch a rom-com of the variety where two people fall in love over a 10 minute montage. Or, I could devote hours to absorbing a story wrought with romantic tension not resolved until the ending. Quick gratification or an utter high on life from devotion to something superior—I choose the latter.
It is in the long process of mixing flour and sugar, waiting for layers to bake, mixing and spreading icing that true quality cake comes into being. And it is in the pages and pages of prose or the hours of a BBC miniseries that a relationship between two people, often filled with frustration and misunderstanding, can really form a bond where they really love one another for who they are (ahh, true love).
Along the way, you can gain a taste of what is to come from cake batter, cake crumbs, and icing, as you can from all the tension in a relationship as attraction develops.
In the end, what more could a girl want than romance and chocolate? But such delights are not an ultimate fulfillment, for both treats must be devoured on occasion and in moderation. I know we must be wary of fat and calories, just as I, for one, must be careful not to let period piece fairy tales (e.g. Mr. Darcy, whose bust is quite real) shape my view of reality.
To be truthful, this cake was first inspired by Oreos and then by my small group coming over for dinner. But the day I was planning the Oreo cream filling and chocolate icing, I happened to have a particularly delightful conversation about mutual fascination with Jane Austen novels, Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, and the Little Dorrit miniseries. Before long, the romance of the two became tied in my head.
Another truth revealed: I used Country Choice, wannabe Oreos from Whole Foods, for the chocolate sandwich cookies.
