I don’t tend to say it out loud, but I like going out of my way to do things for my Dad, big or small. That’s why despite having zero experience and practice in making real layer cakes, I stubbornly pushed through with this one. I wanted to make him a birthday cake. A few open cookbooks later, I decided on one of the most elegant-looking cakes in Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful cookbook. It’s become such a habit for me to pick a Dorie Greenspan recipe whenever I’m baking something for the first time. I have had much success using her recipes; but I turn to her mostly because I like…