The traditional cakes of Christmas are yule logs and fruitcakes, but that doesn't mean that holiday options have to be limited to those traditionally festive few cakes. Nordicware has a new Christmas Tree pan that bakes up into a three-dimensional tree that is cute enough to rival any holiday display and is likely to elicit some "oohs" and "aahs" when you bring it out to the table. While it's true that all cakes are really three-dimensional, this one is unique in that it actually stands up, rather than lying flat on the table. The cake is baked in two halves, which are cemented together with a layer of frosting before being set up on a cake plate, where it will reach a final height of about 10 inches. The cake pan holds 9 cups of batter, which is about the size of a traditional bundt cake recipe. Once the tree is up, it can be decorated with frosting, candy ornaments or just a light dusting of powdered sugar to simulate snow. If you're feeling brave, you could spike the batter with green food coloring for a really tree-like cake, although it might take some convincing to get people to eat it.

As I have mentioned in the past, I don't really care for silicone bakeware. While it allows cakes and other baked goods to cook evenly, it doesn't produce any of the browning or caramelisation at the edges that I love to see. That being said, I do own several silicone cake pans, collected after trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. . I would give them away to a friend or someone who might actually get some use out of the nearly-new pans, but they seem to have become sticky to the point of unusability - and I have no idea why, nor does there seem to be much information about the issue online. Have any of you readers had the same problem? The pans are all dishwasher safe and the instructions say that they cab be soaked in warm, soapy water to clean them, as well. If I'm the only one, then clearly my pans are even worse than I originally thought. If I'm not, then I definitely recommend sticking with more traditional, easier to clean bakeware.

One of the fun things about bundt pans is that they come in so many different shapes - far more than an ordinary cake pan. The problem with this is that you can end up with too many pans, some of which are only really appropriate for certain occasions and the Holiday Tree bundt is a prime example of this. The Stadium Pan does not have this problem, even though it does have an undeniably unique shape, since there are sporting events running all year long. All you need to do is make sure the icing colors match the team that you're supporting before the match, and you can root for your favorite team while you and your friends chow down.

The way that Williams-Sonoma includes a picture of the finished cake with most of their bakeware is a nice touch, especially for the shaped pans. Seeing a lovely, frosted treat is obviously more appealing than simply looking at a piece of metal. For instance, I was not particularly impressed when I saw this Ice Cream Cone Cupcake Pan, a Williams-Sonoma exclusive, on its own, but once I saw the finished cakes in their catalogue, I was sold. They look fantastic, and are a great twist on a regular cupcake, reminding me of a different kind of cupcake cone without the crunchy shell. I think it's particularly impressive that they were able to proportion the cakes so they can stand on their own. The pan is a summer special, so check them out now, if you're interested.

Heart-shaped cake pans are great for Valentine's Day. After all, anything shaped as a heart - cakes, cookies, mashed potatoes - is automatically perceived as romantic being romantic. The problem with heart-shaped bakeware is that it isn't terribly practical. You have to store it and probably will not be using it nearly as much as more traditional square and round pans. But Reynold's has come out with a line of shaped aluminum mini cake pans. Usethe Fun Shapes pans to bake heart-shaped mini cakes and then simply throw out the tin as you would with an ordinary cupcake wrapper. The company recently started marketing these, but plans to put them out for most holidays. I paid $1.49 for this pack of 24 at my local grocery store.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]