Cake

I'm baking my foolproof carrot cake today for my boyfriend's mum's birthday. I have made this cake so many times before and it always turns out fine but every time I have to make something for a special occasion I get a vision in my head of a burnt cake, sunken and rubbery. And I remember the scene from The Hours film where Toni Collette's character declares "Anybody can make a cake". I will admit to telling off friends for buying packet mix "when it's so easy to make yourself!" Perhaps these remarks may come back to haunt me? Fingers crossed it works.