The tale of the cursed cake and why I don't bake with silicone.

Wow! This past weekend was really busy.  I feel like I didn't get hardly enough done, but I think that's just how the holidays make me feel.  I have so much baking and cooking and cleaning and wrapping to do, and on top of it we have a sick cat. 

My great-grandpa turned 87 years old this weekend, and we had a little party for him.  My grandma usually makes the cake, but she had bought a silicone Christmas Tree baking pan and she really wanted me to try it out. I usually really hate those molded pans.  I'd rather cut the shape I want out of a giant sheet cake.  But, grandma really wanted me to use this pan, so I had all sorts of ideas about how to make it look really neat.  ...I could make two of them and stand them back to back and then cover them with fondant, it'd make a neat centerpiece.  I mixed up the cake, just a normal white cake---nothing too special, then greased the pan according to what the directions said.  I kept some of the batter aside because I decided I was going to marble the cake with green batter ---it is an evergreen tree afterall.   I put the cake in to bake and about 40 minutes later I realized I had a problem.  The edges of the cake were done.  In fact, they were almost more than done, and the center was still jiggly.  I turned the timer for 10 more minutes, checked it...same thing!  ...What the heck.  I decided this cake was cursed.  Finally after like one hour and 20 minutes!!!!!! the cake was done.  The sides were a little overdone, but they weren't quite throw-away ready... and I was making it for my family, so I didn't feel quite so bad.  Haha, is that wrong?

I took the cake out, let it cool, and when I went to unmold it I realized I had another problem.  The cake didn't want to come out!  Now I was going a litltle nuts.  I didn't have time to make a whole new cake and I definitely wasn't going to try and make another tree cake.  I called Grandma and freaked out a little, she calmed me down...  and then I glued my cake together with frosting. 

I've got to say, it turned out as good as it could have with what I had to work with:

I won't be using that tree pan again though.  It really is cursed...

When Piyush took the cake to the car to transport it to the party he put the box on the car seat, which is at an incline.  The cake slid right into the box and it smashed the whole side of it.  It's actually kind of funny.  He came running back up here screaming "Damage Control!" ...and I decided there would be no damage control.  They'd just have to deal with a smashed cake.  We were already running late anyway.  I wish I had a picture of the end-product because I'm sure it'd make someone laugh.  Or cry.  hahaha