Does Anyone Use Wilton's Cake Pans?

[wyopatti]

I'm starting to get into cake decorating and am just wondering if anyone has anything good or bad to say about Wilton's cake pans. I don't like to have to slice off the top of my cake layers to even them out because you lose so much of the layer. I'm just wondering if the layers come out flater and easier to frost using Wilton's pans? Thanks.

[BosunsWife]

I don't think they do (bake more evenly that is). I have a 9x13 Wilton cake pan that I love only because it is so much more sturdy than your regular aluminum baking wear. I paid a little more for it, but well worth the extra money. DH is threatened within an inch of his life that it is not to be used for anything but baking!

[Chefmom]

Okay, Wilton pans are good starter pans, but don't go hog wild with them, because if you stick with it (after 10 years) and then realize that there are better out there, you will feel guilty replacing them. And of course your husband will watch you open the mail order box and say, "NO, Not MORE cake pans!!!"

I suggest just buying "Magic Line" pans. They are twice the weight of Wiltons, and they will take MUCH more abuse (usually from storage) over the years. Plus when you are banging away on the counter to get the cheesecake out of the pan you will appreciate a heavy duty pan. You can buy these from www.sugarcraft.com While you are there, check out the cake decorators message board, there are a LOT of great people there and it's all cake talk!!

Okay, take it from a pro, your layers are going to "hump" no matter what. Your best bet is to start wrapping your cakes with wet cloth. It sounds wild, and I didn't believe it until I tried it, but it's my "secret" to flat cake layers!! I take an old bath towel and cut it into long 2-inch wide strips. Wet these down with cold tap water and wring out, then wrap around the outside of the cake pan right before baking and pin in place. Bake the cake as usual and then after you have either taken the cake out or it has cooled for about 10 minutes, just remove the pin and unwrap the pan. Keep these and re-use them until they finally just wear out. I use them for all my butter cakes, carrot cakes etc, round layers, square or sheets with great success. You can buy a "magic strip" for this job, but hey it works with the old bath towel and those are "free" and I ALWAYS have an old bath towel laying around.

Good Luck and Happy Baking!!
Tami

[crazycook]

The "MagicStrips" work great! I've had mine for over 12 years now and they are still in great shape. You get a variety of sizes in the box and you can use two or more for "monster" size pans. I love the novelty character shaped pans by Wilton and have used them with great success. It is so neat to see the cake take "shape" as you ice each section. They are easy to decorate; similar to doing a paint by number. I love their annual magazine with all the great cake decorating ideas. Once you start, your imagination will take over and you will be creating your own special one-of-a-kind cakes. All of my children's grade school teachers loved it when a holiday came around and I would bring in a specialty cake for their classes to enjoy. It's very therapeutic and very rewarding to create a unique cake for other's to enjoy.

Make sure you take a picture of every cake you create. I loved using "props" on my cakes. For my nieces baptismal cake I decorated the outside edge of a large rectangular cake with the lace used to trim her gown. Above the lace I laid a pearl beaded trim. On top of the cake I used a silver babies cup engraved with her name and the date which I filled with silver, white and pink candy coated almonds(the kind used in favours for Italian weddings) mixed with those tiny silver round candies(can't think of their name-dragees??) I lay the cup down so that the candies spilled out onto the cake. Along the edge, I piped rosettes which I decoated with more of the silver dragees. I've done a halloween cake of a Werewolf trick-or-treater holding a bag of "loot". I hollowed out a portion of the cake to hold mini-sized trick-or-treat candy. I've done a spider cake using black string licorice for the web-strings and stretched out cotton candy for the web filler. A snowman cake with a tiny wool knitted scarf and hat with pom-pom, real twig arms(washed well with soap and dried well, of course), buttons for eyes and down his torso, licorice balls for his mouth and a baby carrot nose. Ok, I've rambled on, sorry. I really enjoy making "fun" cakes. Can you tell? ;)

Check out the web, there are some incredible cake designers out there with some amazing form cakes. You'll get a lot of inspiration for your own creations.

Have fun! Be sure and let us know about your creations.

Anna :)

[wyopatti]

Thank you all for your input. It's some great information and I really appreciate it. I knew about the magic strips, but just wondered if the Wilton pans made any difference. I'm always finding something else to buy and it looks like the magic strips are on my list next. Thanks so much!

[stomkow]

I have a few Wilton pans, and I buy them at Michaels Arts & Crafts when they have the 40% off coupon in the paper....

I think they sell them at the Rag shop too.... and they also have a comparable coupon....

I am a bargain hunter....

[wyopatti]

Thanks for the sugarcraft.com web site. Just placed my order! :D

[RobinC]

I've done a fair amount of cake decorating, and I personally don't care for Wilton pans. I think they are rather flimsy. I must admit that I own a substantial number of the specialty Wilton character and special shape pans.

For standard pans, such as squares, rectangles, and rounds, I use a much heavier pan. I think mine are the MagicLine pans that are available through Sugar Craft. I get mine at a local cake decorating supply shop.

I also use the Magic Strips. These do work pretty darn good. The heavier pans with the Magic Strips don't make a perfectly flat cake, but it's close. I only have minimal cake crowns to slice off.

Happy Decorating!!