Just call me Martha

Stewart, that is. I'm not really sure what got into me, but I woke up at 7am this morning to bake a cake for my friend, Mark's birthday. And it's not just any ol' cake. I saw a recipe for a chocolate-pear cake on my friend Lisa's food blog, and decided to be ambitious and give it a try.

Peeling and dicing three whole pears is no joke, man. That took me FOREVER. And surprisingly, I only had one hiccup in the whole experience. When I was browing the butter, I had it over the stove too long and it burned half of my spatula off!

That kinda sucked, but it only set me back ten minutes to brown the butter again, so it definitely could have been worse. I'm not going to get into all the details of the cake (I don't have time--I'm already running late to Mark's party!), but definitely check out the recipe and instructions on Lisa's blog here. Lisa got the recipe from one of her favorite restaurants in Park Slope, so you know it's gotta be good. I just hope I made it half as good as she did!

I rushed out the door and left Liza with this mess to clean up. (Sorry, Lize!) The party is at a sports bar in the West Village, where we plan to watch football and drink beer all day long. Thinking about it now, my chocolate-pear cake will be pretty random, but I guess it's the thought that counts, right?!

If all goes well, I might make this cake again for Thanksgiving. Anyone have any great, easy cake or pie recipes to share??