More hiking - more ugly cakes

I thought I would make a really special cake over the weekend but it didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would.


This is supposed to be a Boston Cream Pie. For some reason the vanilla custard filling refused to stay between the layers of cake and ran all over the place.  Looks ugly, but tastes pretty good!







The last time I tried to make a "fancy" cake, it ran over the top of the pan in the oven making an incredible, colorful mess.  Again - ugly, yet tasty. What am I doing wrong?  These hideous cakes aren't even worthy of the Cake Wrecks site.  I'm going to get an estimate on some kitchen remodeling which will include a new oven, but I have no real hope that I will be a better cook because of it. 

So the cake wasn't pretty, but Sunday's Skyline Drive hike was.  It was a very pretty and warm day so we tried an hour and a half long loop trail and best of all, Xena went along!  I was afraid she was too out of shape to make it, but she was a trooper.

Xena and me -look at her happy smile!