Anyone have any tips on using the Wilton 3D Car Cake Pan? I tried it last night with my regular chocolate recipe and I dropped the oven temp down to 300 to help it cook more evenly. It fell in the middle horribly and then stuck to the pan when I tried to get it out. Would a cake mix work better? Any other tips to ensure it cooks evenly when the center of the cake is much deeper than the edges???
I've never worked with the 3D Car Cake Pan but have made a lot of 3D cakes which require similar baking. How did you grease your pan? I am SUPER careful greasing those sorts of pans. Shortening first and then coated with flour. I've never had a problem getting them out. My Wilton 3D Train Cake Pan suggested I use a mixture of scratch cake and box mix which always worked for me. I agree to keep the temperature low. Did you overmix the batter? That could cause the middle to collapse. Those sort of pans are definitely for looks and not the best ones to use for a GREAT textured cake. I also freeze the cake after it cools so it doesn't fall apart when decorating. Good luck!
I have used the 3D bear pan a lot and I always find if I don't add a box of pound cake-mixed according to directions-to my cake batter it will not hold up. I always use the Pillsbury pound cake mix.
I'd love a good chocolate scratch recipe if you're willing to give it up!
I have used the Wilton 3D bear many times. It does make a difference if you use a pound cake base. I use the Pillsbury Pound cake like Montana618, then add a doctored mix to the pound cake batter.
Also, make sure to use the heating core.
I have never had a problem with the center falling, more like overflowing!!
I always use the pam for baking-not sure how crisco would do!
Montana18 -- I've made this recipe many times and love it. Here's my Chocolate Pound Cake recipe......
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened Dutch process medium cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanila extract
2 tsp espresso extract (or subsitutre 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp buttermilk)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beating at medium spped, add the eggs one by one, beating only until they are well blended.
Beating on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and a third of the buttermilk. Do this twice more with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula in between. Finally, beat the batter on medium speed for 30 seconds, until it is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. bake the cake for 50-60 minutes.
I've made the 3-D car cake more times than I can count. I use a combination of one regular cake mix and one pound cake mix, both made according to the box directions. This gives you a nice firm cake without being quite as heavy as pound cake.
I grease the pan heavily with Crisco and then dust with flour. Make sure you measure the batter and put exactly the amount they tell you to use. Don't lower the oven to 300, that is way too low and probably the reason it didn't cook in the middle. I think they tell you 350 on this one. Do what they say and cook it the time they say or even 5 to 10 minutes over. The pan does not come with a heating core and I never use one and have never had any problems at all with it.
This cake pan makes such a large thick cake that I think you don't have much of a choice with it being a little dry if you want it to cook through and through.
KathysCC....is correct...Bump the temp up to 325 or 350 and bake accordingly.I always just use a regular cake mix and it always come out great!! Grease all your pans with crisco first and dust with flour..I would/never use Pam as the cakes still tend to stick but the crisco and flour never do!
I've baked with the car pan several times,you can see two in my pictures and I used a scratch pound cake recipe and my cakes turned out alright just be sure to lower your oven temp as the pan is quite light and the cake could get burnt.I grease with margarine or baking spray and flour and the cake just falls out when it is time to come out, no problems so far!!
Thanks PinkLisa! I'm planning to make an Uncle Sam with the 3D bear pan for the 4th! I finally get to make a chocolate one!! 
Montana18 -- I've made this recipe many times and love it. Here's my Chocolate Pound Cake recipe......
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened Dutch process medium cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanila extract
2 tsp espresso extract (or subsitutre 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp buttermilk)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beating at medium spped, add the eggs one by one, beating only until they are well blended.
Beating on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and a third of the buttermilk. Do this twice more with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula in between. Finally, beat the batter on medium speed for 30 seconds, until it is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. bake the cake for 50-60 minutes.
Hello PinkLisa.
Just a few questions about the recipe you've listed up above. Obviously you're US based, so I'm guessing the measurements are imperial cups/tbl/tsp and not the metric cups/tbl/tsp.
Also, given the suggestions of the thin tin and reducing the temp (which has an affect of increasing the cooking time) I"m wondering what temp you would be dropping to.
I have attempted this car twice now with different cakes, but only noticed this forum after the second failed attempt. Both have failed to cook fully through in the centre.
So, a 160C oven for about 80 minutes?
Suggestions would be welcome
HI,
I've made the car cake quite a few times now with a dense chocolate cake repipe (sorry, but it was given to me by someone who made me promise not to give it out), I tried the train cake with the Hershey's chocolate cake recipe (which is also delicious) but it did not hold up well so now I always use the chocolate one as I find that kids prefer that as pound cake can be quite heavy.
As per what has already been said you need to bump up your oven temp to 175C (that's what I use), also you can buy a heating core (Wiltons and other baking supply stores have them) as that will ensure the even baking of a pan like the car bc of the uneven shape.
HTH
AHi pinklisa I was just about to make this cake but as I was reading through the recipe I noticed that in the ingredients list there are no eggs listed but in the recipe it states to add eggs one at a time. Could you please reply with the correct number of eggs to add? I would really love to give this recipe a try! Thanks, it would be greatly appreciated!
A
Original message sent by colerae
Hi pinklisa I was just about to make this cake but as I was reading through the recipe I noticed that in the ingredients list there are no eggs listed but in the recipe it states to add eggs one at a time. Could you please reply with the correct number of eggs to add? I would really love to give this recipe a try! Thanks, it would be greatly appreciated!
Original message sent by PinkLisa
Montana18 -- I've made this recipe many times and love it. Here's my Chocolate Pound Cake recipe......
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened Dutch process medium cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanila extract
2 tsp espresso extract (or subsitutre 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp buttermilk)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beating at medium spped, add the eggs one by one, beating only until they are well blended.
Beating on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and a third of the buttermilk. Do this twice more with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula in between. Finally, beat the batter on medium speed for 30 seconds, until it is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. bake the cake for 50-60 minutes.
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