The Bundt Pan Challenge

Why is it that I always stick to the same things? I'm comfortable in the same clothes, comfortable with the same surroundings, comfortable with the same music, same friends, same foods. I just "preached" to my daughter about getting out and trying something new; yet, I find myself not doing the same. Take for instance my bundt pan. Yes, there's a lesson I learned from a bundt pan! This should tell you a little about my life lately.

It seems that I believe that my bundt pan will only bake one kind of cake, a chocolate pound cake. I really don't think it can do anything else. It is used to that. And it never fails me. I know that it will turn out. So, I put my pan to the test. If I'm going to convince someone else to try new things, I at least have to be willing to try something new also - even if it is a challenge to a bundt pan. So I did.

I found a recipe that sounded great. Coconut pound cake. Not much change. Still a pound cake. Same amount of eggs, sugar, etc. Just omit the chocolate, add some coconut. I know it was daring, but I tried anyhow.

Proud of myself, I followed the instructions carefully, almost. The cake made it to the oven. The house filled with a wonderful aroma. The correct amount of time passed. I took out the beautiful cake. Pinched off a piece of the top. Wow! It was great. I waited for it to cool, turned it over on my best cake plate. Then it happened.

The cake wouldn't turn loose. It clung to the side of the pan. I loosened the edges, knowing that that would be the key, but it wasn't. When it finally came out of the pan, it did so in pieces. My experiment had failed. My pan is just as stubborn as I am.

I don't want to let go of my familiar things. I cling to the things that bring me comfort. My chocolate pound cake is my friend. It doesn't disappoint me, so I trust it. I rely on it. Yet, there's still a longing to try something new. Some new hair style. Some new piano music. Some new recipe. There's a longing to expand my horizons in the world, whether it is as simple as a cake recipe. To me, that's a big thing. A new adventure. A risk.

Sure, the risk of failure is great. But I'm beginning to think that it is worth the risk. The cake didn't turn out as well as I had expected. But then I remembered why. I didn't follow the recipe exactly. When it was time to grease and flour the pan, I sprayed the pan instead of using Crisco. Not much in deviation, I thought. Yet, enough to probably cause my disaster. And that's the way it is many times. I cause my own disasters. One little piece of the directions from my recipe which I didn't follow. Perhaps if I had, different results would have occured. Who knows? I know I can rely on my bundt pan for chocolate pound cake. Maybe it can learn to to take a risk with me, maybe together my bundt pan and I can rise to new heights, new challenges, lofty places with new recipes. Doesn't sound like much of a challenge to many folks, but to me...I'm up for the challenge.