Is there a difference in the Wilton Decorator Preferred pans versus the Performance pans? I've got a couple of the performance pans and have been happy with them, but if the other ones are somehow better, maybe I've been buying the wrong ones? Let me know what you think. Thanks!

Samantha

If you're looking for square pans the preferred are much better. They have straight sides and good sharp corners. They bake great. They are a little more heavy duty, but I have both in the round and they work ok.

I've found you can't beat a Magic Line pan. I baked four 9" rounds, 2 in Wilton, 2 in Magic Line, and the difference was night and day. Buy them if you can - they will last you a lifetime!

Yes there is a big difference in the two Wilton lines, I cannot comment on the Magic Line because I cannot get it here. But the Decorator Preferred are a lot more heavy duty, similar to commercial pans and they cook much more evenly.
Hugs Squirrelly

I have one of the preffered pans, an 8" square, and I LOVE it. I have to say that the crisp square corners are a huge selling point....along with the fact that they are just so much more "heavy duty."
Miah

Wow, you all seem to agree! I'll make my next purchase a performance! I haven't heard of the Magic Line, but I'll look for it too next time I'm buying. Thanks!!

Samantha

I like the preffered ones also!! The square corners are awesome for getting a straight precise cake!!

Magic Line is the best...very sturdy and heavy and bakes evenly..
It is not aluminum, like that "other" one, which bend easily..

I love the Magic Line.

Have put them in the dishwasher and they did not change like the Wilton pans do.

I personally prefer Magic Line pans...I'm slowly replacing all of my Wilton brand pans with Magic Line. My round pans & 1/2 sheet are all Wilton - round ones being the Decorator Preferred, not sure about the 1/2 sheet, I think it's just the plain old Wilton design/aluminum. The reason I'm replacing them with Magic Line is because I've found that the M. L. brand pans just perform better, basically. Squirrellycakes was right, that the M.L. & Wilton Dec. Preferred are very much the same in weight & thickness, but when I baked two cakes of the same size in the different brand pans, the M.L. cakes had REALLY straight sides (& that was with the round ones - would love to see how their square pans/corners turn out if the round ones are that great!), rose to the height of the pan easily (both pans were filled with exact same amt. of batter), and I also noticed that the cake baked in the Wilton Dec. Preferred pan was more spongy/light/crumbly texture while the M.L. cake was much more firm without being "hard". I have no idea why they baked so differently, but I tried it again on a different day, to rule out some variables, and the exact same thing happened. I also found that the M.L. cake was easier to tort and work with than the one baked in Wilton pan...I guess due to its firmness/sturdiness. Maybe the difference in how the pans performed was due to a difference in the "grade" of aluminum that each manufacturer uses?? Maybe one grade will conduct heat more consistently, etc. than another grade?? Just thinking out loud on that one!! hehehe

All I know is that with my Wilton pans, the cake never really rises as high as I would think it should unless I overfill it to the point of risking an overflow while baking, and then it shrinks back a ton while cooling...therefore I usually had to bake 2 of the same size layer to get just two layers of cake with filling in the middle...did that make sense?? lol Instead of being able to bake 2 same size cakes, then torte each....which would yield 4 layers of cake with filling in between each, right? Get it? Hope that made sense!! My layers wouldn't rise to anywhere near the depth of the pan, then shrinkage while cooling - didn't leave me a tall enough cake to warrant torting each layer...they would be just puny, skinny little, very uneven layers of cake with tons of filling in between to give me the height I needed for the whole cake. With the M.L. that problem was solved!! But this is just my experience.....

BTW - if your local supply store doesn't carry or oder Magic Line pans, I've found all of mine on ebay...there are some cake deco supply "stores" there that carry lots of great stuff! From one seller I got a set of the M.L. pans, 8, 6, 4, 2 inch for $26, incl. shipping...& when my order arrived there were 8 gold foil covered cake rounds in the same sizes, 2 of each, included for free!

Thank you all so much for the information. The preferred ones are harder to find around here and I've never seen a Magic Line, but now that I know they're out there, I'll probably see them more. I'll see what I can get on ebay too! Thanks!!

Samantha