Chocolate and Salted Caramel Birthday Layer Cake

So before I tell you about this luscious chocolate layer cake, I just want to mention that today marks opening day for voting in Project Food Blog 2010!  Don't have any clue what I am talking about?  You can find some info here, and also see my profile by clicking on the cute little widget with my cute little picture that is over on the sidebar (or here).  In a nutshell, 2,000+ bloggers will compete in a series of challenges to determine who is the next food blog star.  Oh yeah, and that person will win $10,000.  A minor detail of course.  Since I am participating (and fiercely competitive), I would love your support and your votes!  I really hope you enjoyed reading my first entry and you can vote for me using this link, just click the heart!  Also, on the voting page you can share my entry on Facebook or Twitter.  Isn't technology these days wonderful?    

And now, without further ado... On to the birthday festivities!  

I am a little late in posting this cake, since I made it August for my good friends Jenn and Jill.  They both have birthdays within weeks of each other, although Jill is a Leo and Jenn is a Virgo.  (I am sure you were dying to know that.)  I thought about having a separate birthday celebration for each of them, but then it seemed like too much to take on, even for me, especially considering I was making a second layer cake that same weekend.  So, to properly celebrate both their birthdays, I decided I would make them a spectacular cake that was just to their liking. 

I already had a good idea about the kinds of flavors that were their favorites, but to be absolutely sure, I asked them in advance while we chatting online what kind of cake they would like.  This is what they said: