Piece of Cake!

February 22, 2011

Written by Contributing Writer, Sarah Farthing – thanks!

I discovered Wilton cake pans just after my twins turned one. I was lamenting that whenever I tried to color my frosting, it always turned out dull; I could never get it to be bright and vibrant. A friend recommended that I look for Wilton Icing Colors at a craft store. The moment I stepped into the cake aisle, which I had never known existed, I was hooked. Right next to the icing colors I discovered these amazing cake pans that are molds of fire engines, footballs, guitars, animals, numbers, superheroes, Elmo, Mickey Mouse, you name it! Birthday cakes in our house haven’t been the same since!

Check this out, fresh out of the pan…

Look at that! Icing this cake is like coloring, people! I cannot sew, I cannot draw and I don’t even really glue or scissor very well to tell the truth. I am a firm believer that creative and crafty are two independent characteristics and while plenty of people are both, I am firmly in the creative camp without even one toe in the door of crafty. I can, however, color inside the lines and that is just what it feels like I’m doing with these Wilton cakes!

You can tell by the finished product that I do not have a steady hand. Look at those wheels. Rescue personnel would never get to a fire without incident on those over-inflated, lop-sided tires…

But it doesn’t have to be perfect. I’m not trying to make picture-perfect cakes. I am just thrilled to have an easy to use kitchen tool that made it possible for me to make, despite myself, the fire engine cake my son dreamed about for his 4^th birthday.

You can find icing recipes and a plethora of great ideas on the Wilton website (http://www.wilton.com/) and the instructions in each cake pan offer alternative designs to be made from the same pan. I used a football shaped pan for this rocket cake last year:

This crown shaped pan is perfect for a princess but is also fit for a king like Dad on Father’s Day!

These cakes are as fun to make as they are easy and I love this birthday tradition for our family. Every Wilton cake pan I have purchased was under $15 and the icing colors (so vivid!) are $1.99; well worth how special the birthday kids, and their mom!, feel when these delightful cakes are presented.

Here’s a tip, while we’re on the topic: For absolutely delectable cake, choose a cake mix with “moist” on the box and beat for over 5 minutes. I know it says 30 seconds on low and 2 minutes on medium, but just keep your mixer on medium and work the batter for at least five minutes or even longer. Careful not to overfill your pan, you might need to hold a little batter back but just try it and tell me the difference it makes doesn’t surprise you!

Any cake tips for me?

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Category: For Kids
Tags: Homemade cakes, Wilton Cake pans |

12 Comments »

Yaya Kelley
on February 22, 2011 8:56 am
The Bayleaf downtown has wonderful cooking classes. Watch for the cake decorating classes. They are fun, just a couple of hours, and you’ll pick up some exciting tips that are easy to do and make a world of difference.
Yaya Kelley
on February 22, 2011 8:58 am
p.s. Tupperware has a cake decorating kit – it’s wonderful too – easy to use and easy to clean.
Mama Nolte
on February 22, 2011 9:08 am
I know a certain Grandmother in Lou. KY that is so proud of her Granddaughter 🙂
Whitney
on February 22, 2011 9:40 am
Oh man! I love these – it reminds me of the cakes my mom used to make us!
Matt
on February 22, 2011 12:16 pm
Great tips for easy cakes!
Sarah
on February 22, 2011 1:46 pm
We did a Wilton duck for my daughter’s first birthday and couldn’t believe how good it looked! Also, the Wilton icing colors are amazing–great for everything from dinosaurs to butterflies–much more true than trying to come up with your own colors–especially for someone like me who is definitely not in the “crafty” category!
Sarah
on February 22, 2011 1:47 pm
My only additional piece of advice would be to make sure the pan is well greased–yes, we went with Crisco because the version sprayed with Pam lost a wing–and I can’t wait to try the 5 minute tip–thanks!
christy
on February 22, 2011 2:43 pm
Check out your local library. Ours has these and more cake pans to borrow! They are fun.
Susan
on February 22, 2011 2:59 pm
I didn’t know libraries had cake pans!
I used to borrow paintings for my classroom years ago but I never heard of cake pans. I will “check out” my library for other interesting things to borrow!
Sarah
on February 22, 2011 3:32 pm
Sarah, you are exactly right on making sure the pan is greased and fully coated with flour on top of the Crisco- no shiny silver showing!

Christy, I’ve heard that before about Wilton pans being available for checkout at some local libraries, I forgot to mention it!
Heidi Farmer
on February 22, 2011 4:01 pm
I had NO idea either – I’ll have to ask at my library! Or Christy – you just might have one heck of a rockin’ library!
Heidi Farmer
on February 22, 2011 4:04 pm
And my additional cake-making tip I got from Sandra Lee, of Semi-Homemade fame: add a coordinating jello pudding mix to your cake batter. If yellow cake, then use vanilla, if chocolate, then chocolate and so on. It adds even that much more moistness!