Candied Orange Slices:

1. Thinly slice your orange, then cut each slice in half.
2. Place orange halves in a small sauce pot with enough water to cover the orange. Bring to a boil, about 5-7 minutes. Drain.
3. Return the orange slices to the same sauce pot with just enough water to cover them, about 1/2 cup. Add 1/4 cup sugar. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until the orange skins are nice and tender. The syrup should almost be cooked down.
4. Gently transfer the orange slices to a plate, leaving a little space between each slice. Reserve the syrup for the cream cheese frosting (see below).
5. Freeze the orange slices for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, prepared your chocolate dip and almonds.
6. Ground 1/2 cup almonds in the food processor. Set aside.
7. In a double broiler, melt down the dark chocolate and shortening, until smooth. Remove from the heat immediately, so ensure the chocolate does not seize.
8. Remove the candied oranges from the freezer. Dip each slice in the chocolate then the ground almonds. Place on a new plate (if the other has syrup otherwise this will make the almond coating soggy) and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Classic Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and grease two 8 1/2 inch cake tins. The sift about 1/2 teaspoon of cocoa powder on the bottom of each pan. Pat each pan to shift the cocoa powder so that the entire inside of the pan in lined in the cocoa powder. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat together sugar, softened butter, eggs, vanilla and sour milk until smooth and incorporated.
4. It is important to continually whisk (or if using a stand mixer, keep on low speed) as you add the hot coffee, so not to scramble the eggs in the batter. As soon as the coffee is mixed in, add the flour and cocoa mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Continue to mix until a thick batter forms.
5. Divide the batter equally between the two prepared cake pans. Lightly tap your cake pans against the counter a few times to ensure you avoid air pockets in your finished cakes.
6. Bake for about 25-28 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
7. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pans.

Orange Infused Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Combine all ingredients for the frosting in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix until all is well incorporated and the frosting is smooth.

Assembly:

1. Once the cakes have cooled, gently turn out of the pans. Using a long serrated knife, slice each in half, horizontally.
2. **To ensure a even, level cake, I sliced the top off of each cake before I divided them.
3. On a cake plate, place the bottom of one of the cakes down first. Spread generously and evenly with the citrus frosting. Place the other half of the cake, top-down, and add an equal amount of frosting to this layer. Top again with the bottom half of the second cake and finish off the rest of the frosting. Complete the cake with the final half. Dust with powdered sugar. Sprinkle chopped almonds if desired in the center and then garnish with the candied orange slices.