I was hoping to take the easy way out and use the Wilton 3-D Cruiser Cake pan for the car I am making. The only problem is that I made three cakes with it today and they all came out with crusty edges. In the third one I finally put a rose nail in the center so it wouldn't fall, and that worked, but by the time the center was done, my edges were hard as a rock. I am beginning to think that it would have been easier to bake one cake and carve my shape that to bake three bad cakes.

Any advice on using this pan or did I really just waste my money?

Mine come out a bit crusty but I find if I use the real buttercream (with real butter) that some of the moisture soaks in and once you cut it the next day, the crustiness is not noticeable.

Thank-you, you gave me a wonderful idea. I am going to brush the cake with a simple syrup before I decorate. A crumb coat and a moisture coat all in one.

Ahh, all that stress for one simple solution.

You can also wrap the edges of the pan with foil to avoid crusty edges.I have done that with a few pans where the feet etc...tend to bake faster than the rest of the cake.