I like to bake, so I like to bake pretty much any of the cakes. I do not consider cheesecake a cake, and I don't particularly like it, but I bake them for Elery regularly as they are favorite of his. I also do not consider Boston Cream Pie to be pie, and it is the cake The Princess asked for on her birthday, so i gladly made it. We all ate it, so it must have been OK. I also made a Tres Leches cake for my birthday a year or so ago, and although it was kind of soggy, I thought it was good, as was the Italian Cream Cake I made for Elery at Christmas. It's not as much fun for me to make "plain" cakes, but Ashley likes Texas Sheet Cake, and Madi and Maci both like "vanilla cake". Amanda is celiac, of course, so she just wants gluten free lemon bars, LOL. I do have a weakness for moist chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache, but it just takes a tiny bit to be enough, it's so rich. Annie

Sooz, I have to be honest. I don't like this recipe, and of the couple of commenters who made it, none raved about it. Commenters usually rave about even ordinary recipes. They did clear up that it's supposed to be a 9x13 pan, though. I worry it might not be maple-y enough for your friend besides being not that great. Re the dry edges, it sounds like your oven is too hot. Try bringing it down 20 degrees F, and extending the time if needed. Just like with dropped or rolled cookies, bars should be pulled from the oven when just getting firm at the edges and still looking a little raw in the middle. The "cool completely in the pan" in the recipe is letting the retained heat in the pan and treats continue to set them. I wouldn't try baking these in papers/cupcake tins. It might be doable, but you'd lose the whole magic of bars. Unless you want to cut perfect squares with a ruler, which requires lifting the whole thing out of the pan, you could just prepare a glass or glazed pan, and cut in the pan, and it should work fine. You can put the squares in papers for serving as she suggests. The bakery supply store or Amazon will have nice square and oblong papers you can use. Did you see this other recipe for maple butter bars? https://www.completelydelicious.com/maple-butter-bars/

I would venture to say "seasonal uglies". but saying that, I would be sure to clean up any and all dead and dying leaves and then in the Spring, just as the pips are emerging but before they leaf out I would douse the clump with hydrogen peroxide.

Mine stays healthy during the humid spring and fall in PNW, but it tends to be balling in the rain. I'm considering replacing it.