Thank you for having faith in me! Those who are familiar with my cooking don’t share your confidence! :-)
(For example, one dinner guest has fond memories of waving smoke out of the front door with his jacket.)
But, despite all, I plan to try making the first cake.
About a year ago, I posted a carrot cake recipe that I’ve been making for about 40 years; it has always come out well (and I’m not at all a good baker) and after icing you can decorate it any way you like, with those neat decorating things in the baking section of the grocery:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3272163/posts