I bought two 6" and two 10" locally made square cake tins. Made my usual red velvet cake batter and was going to take a run on the treadmill while the cakes were in the oven timed. Decided to put around the kitchen and mop the floor again. Then I see a bright orange flash in the oven. My oven doesn't have a light so I couldn't see what else may have been stirring up in there. Another flash. Open oven and a flash of fire from DRIPPING BATTER FROM THE DARN LOCALLY MADE CAKE TINS! I don't even have a fire extinguisher in case it was worse. Had to turn off the oven and main switch and keep the oven open. Shoved in a baking tray on the bottom rack to catch the leaking batter. Can't believe this ish. Now I am wondering if I am going to have a sunk cake because of the loss of heat only 2 mins into baking. How can someone make a pan that is so badly soldered. I paid $9US (equivalent) for the 6" square pan and $13 US (equivalent to my currency) for the 10" square cake pans. I really didn't even notice there was bad soldering and I don't even have liability insurance for this kind of drama!!!

Well I have news for you. They used solder that is NOT foodsafe.

You might not see any gaps in the solder but the only solders that melt at such a low temperature have lead or cadmium as a primary ingredient.

In future you can test cake pans--put them into the oven set at 200C and bake them empty for 15 minutes. When they cool, add some water and look for drips.

Lead and cadmium. These are definitely things I would never want mixing up with my cake batter for customers or myself!. Good lord. This sounds like it needs to be reported. Lead is not safe for food ware :S The man who makes it makes other things as well for household use. Clearly he isn't aware of what is food safe or not. He sells these cake tins to all our cake stores... :s I found it odd the cake tins were wobbling and bending when I moved them from counter to oven. What would you do Irene? Would you report it and take it back to the cake store? Is it even the cake store's fault? This is something that should be addressed.

I posted earlier but the net ate my post...

Contact the chemistry department of a local university or college to ask them to test for lead & cadmium. Do NOT tell them where you got the pans. Just say you were curious...

After you get the written results of the test, take a copy to the cake store (with receipt if possible). They really need to know that there is a problem, but they are the ones to take it any further.

I'm not going to say it's anybody's fault, but...the price should tell the store something. I was reluctant to buy some very cheap local pans, until I found the mfr's website. There was positive information of their process, and their list price in this area is right for the weight and quality of the pans. These pans are being sold at discount but they are solid aluminum and the few seams are welded not soldered.

Hmmm I could do that and get the tins checked out. In the mean time, I am battling with the 2nd round of red velvet cakes in the oven. Oven was smoking for the 1st 10 mins. I put a large cookie tray on the last rack the 1st time I noticed the flash fire and did it again the 2nd baking round. When the cakes baked and I took out the baking tray I saw that it was the shortening I used to grease the cake tins that was leaking. No wonder it was causing bursts of flames. Have to get oven cleaner tomorrow and fix this.

Just a quick tip, if you have something burning on the bottom of your oven, cover it with table salt and it will stop the flames so that you can continue cooking. I seem to have to do this ALOT!

Table salt...interesting. Never heard of this before except for shooing away frogs! Very interesting. I guess anything but a fire extinguisher would be good here. Who wants to damage the cake anyway! Thanks for the suggestion. Anyone else ever had a smoking oven or a flash fire and how did you deal with it?

Every summer one of my fruit pies runs over something wicked. It dumps about a cup of fruit filling all at once...MAJOR smoke...This usually happens the week after I clean the oven.

Reminds me of my 1st year of marriage and my first time baking a turkey. I decided a 25 lb turkey would be sufficient for the two of us. I had it in my bright mind that I would make turkey pies with all the leftovers. I slapped that bad boy in one of those aluminum flimsy disposable baking pans. Not a large one either. Oh the smartness of me. You should have seen the fire in my oven!

My husband loves to tell that story even after 13 years. I'll never live it down.

Def. get those pans tested! And Irene, your knowledge never fails to astound me.

D.

Years ago i turned a cake half way through baking time.....
Shut oven door - turned my back to put the kettle on and think to myself -

hmmmmm, self, what is that god horrid smell.

*CLICK* the light in my brain goes on

S - L - O - W - L - Y open oven door - so as to remove burning teatowell.
Yes, i had closed the oven with one of my teatowells still resting on the door.....

S - L - O - W - L - Y drop teatowell in sink - run tap -
place cremated teatowell in bin then continued making my cup of coffee.

Only good thing to come out of this - i didn't have to wash that teatowell at the end of the day.

Bluehue

haha that is FUNNY!!!!!!!!

Well those foil pans are OK if you use them double. I fill them about 2/3 full of lasagna and stuff that in the freezer. Then my catering customer schleps them off to the lake for baking onsite.

And turkeys in my experience leak lots of juice while baking. So in the absence of one of those wonderful blue enameled roasters, I would use the really deep foil pans, again doubled.