Thank you to everyone for the good wishes.

Answers to the comments:
I offered to bake them a mini-tier cake, as I have the mini-tier set that Wilton used to sell. I used it for my own wedding cake, as well as for my stepdaughter's college graduation. I sent them a picture of the latter. However, they wanted just a small two-layer cake the size of the top tier. I'm not sure if they plan to eat the entire cake that night--or perhaps save some for breakfast before they leave the next day--but I have given them instructions, so if they want to freeze part of it, they know to first refrigerate until the frosting hardens, then double-wrap in saran and pop into a Ziplock bag. I am assuming that a white chocolate-cream cheese-butter frosting will freeze well.

That is a sweet story, Aaron, about saving the top tier for your first anniversary. I like the idea of freezing the top layer and pulling it out for the first anniversary, but I did not have that option for our wedding cake, as we did not get married in the state in which we were living. Two of my friends ate their top tier on their one-month anniversary, as they were not sure if it would last for a year. I think it depends on the quality of the freezer.

If I were making a butter-based cake, freezing would be the way to go. I did that with the various layers I baked for my own wedding cake. One reason I chose the oil cake is that it would be hard to keep it frozen on a two-day drive, even if the weather is not overly warm. Oil cakes can be frozen if necessary.

We ate half of one layer this evening, and it is delicious with tender texture. We will compare over the next four days.

Yesterday, I ordered a package of 8-inch cake circles from Michael's. I looked at my stash--or what I can find of it (our remodel project continues) --and found 6-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch but no 8-inch. As cake circles are rather thin, I will tape two together for a sturdier base, then cover them with the foil Michael sells for that purpose, as I still have plenty in my stash. It and the other cake circles are left over from when I would bake the office birthday cakes. I ordered a cake box as well, so that I can transport it to the reception, and send it home with them afterwards.

I'm not sure about a cake stand. I have several that are 10-inches wide, which would dwarf a 6-inch cake, and two of those are family heirlooms that I would not want to subject to a cross country jaunt. I have a Wilton set of three stands of different heights that reflect a rage in the past for three different sizes of cakes on three levels. I used one of them for the mini-tier cake for my wedding, so I might use the 8-inch one. If I lived near stores, I would probably be browsing T.J. Maxx and Tuesday Morning frequently over the next few weeks. I may check out the thrift store in town. I have done some looking online but found nothing. I know they exist, but where they exist is the problem.

Well, this particular cake is an oil cake, so I did not have to make any changes. for it. My change was to replace canola oil with olive oil.

We have a thread here at Nebraska Kitchen from the Baking Circle in which Cass helped CWCdesign alter a butter cake to an oil cake.

I do not know if every recipe could be adapted. The butter cake that I made for our wedding is not one that I would try to adapt because it calls for two sticks of butter, and the cake depends on the creaming of the butter with the sugar for its structure.

I can usually substitute 1/3 cup of oil for a single 8 Tbs. of butter. Sometimes, I will use 1/4 cup oil and then add buttermilk to make 1/3 cup. Substituting oil for butter means using all fat, whereas butter is part water, so adding a bit of buttermilk can help.

I always mix oil cakes by hand, although a hand mixer could be used for combining the oil and sugar and beating in the eggs. However, the dry ingredients should be added with a cake whisk or spatula without overmixing or else the cake may be tough.

We ate the chocolate cake, beginning the day after I baked it, having a piece for the next four days. It keeps well, and indeed, I thought it was even better on the third and fourth day. We will never know beyond that, as it has been consumed. 🙂