Intern in the kitchen!

I tie the strings of my apron into a tight ribbon just at the end of my spinal cord. 
"Danelle, prepare the sorrel juice," the chef calls. I proceed with my task briskly, blending the leaves, straining the mixture and storing it in the fridge. After which, I am called to do other miscellanous tasks too, such as grating lemons, preparing the meringue mixture, halving hazelnuts, etc. After 2 hours, I get my lunch break. I indulge in a simple yet delicious meal of siew bak(roasted pork belly) with rice and a sticky red sweet sauce on the side. Once done, I get back to work, preparing for service time. Desserts are dished out and plated beautifully on oval, white porcelain plates. The meringue is caramelized to a beautiful brown, with little specks of black. All over the plate, creamy lemon curd is piped in small, bright yellow dots, then topped with a crunchy short bread crumbs and lemon balm leaves.   
After the last order is sent out, we wash up, clean the area until it is spanking clean and I return home.
That was a day in my life for the past for weeks, as an intern in a restaurant kitchen. Alas, all things eventually come to an end, as that of my internship. And I have to thank the chefs who had been so patient to teach me the ropes and forgiving when I messed up. And what better way, than to say it with cake?

Four tier chocolate cake, recipe adapted from Donna Hay
Ingredients:
½ cup water 
60g butter, chopped 
2 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
150g all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
180g caster sugar 
1 egg 
¼ cup buttermilk(alternatively, mix 1/4 cup milk and 3.5ml vinegar and let stand for 5-10 minutes)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 150C(fan-forced)/170C (conventional). Grease two six inch pans.
2.Heat water, butter and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted. Leave to cool.
3. Sift flour, baking soda in a bowl. Add caster sugar. Add cocoa mixture and whisk to combine.
4. Add buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
5. Divide the mixture into the two pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Chocolate cream cheese frosting, adapted from Donna Hay
Ingredients:
50g butter, softened
250g cream cheese, softened
160g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder

Method:
1. Cream butter and cheese together until pale and creamy. Sift in cocoa powder and icing sugar. Mix until light and fluffy.

Assembly:
To assemble, slice the cakes in half horizontally. Place one cake layer on a plate and spread with one quarter of the frosting. Repeat with remaining layers and frosting. Decorate as desired.

NOTE: I used eight inch pans instead of six inch as specified. Hence, cake layers were much thinner, so I did not cut the cakes in half. I made a two tier cake instead.