…but nonetheless, I’ve created her thoroughly insane Pine Cone Cake and lived to tell the tale. My friend Sally, always the good sport, agreed to document the proceedings.

So, we started out by toasting the almonds that would eventually go into the cake itself:

Exhausted from that prodigious effort, we sat down to watch Revenge Of The Nerds instead. Whew!

Our strength renewed, I ground the almonds along with the sugar and combined that mixture with flour.

I melted the butter and added rum and vanilla…

…and folded it all together with whipped egg whites.

After baking and cooking the cake, I cut the individual cakes out of the whole with a cookie cutter.

Martha says to “discard” the scraps. Like, whatever.

After heaping the frosting on these puppies (the recipe calls for 1/3 cup on each!), the real work begins.

Martha, I hate you.

Voila! See that vague half-smile? That would be one of dazed exhaustion and smug victory.

Let’s get a closer look, shall we?