Recipe for Christmas tree cake pan

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pengyou

Senior Cook
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Feb 14, 2011
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I have a Christmas tree pan to bake cakes in. I am not sure how to use it. It is about 14" by 8" at it's widest, a tree shape. I was going to fill it with water up to about 1/4“ (do you think that is the correct height to measure from? ) from the top and then measure the amount of water in it to determine how much batter I will need to make a cake...but at that point I get lost. I guess I can do the same with my 9x13 and then compare volumes. Can I use any cake recipe in this pan? The metal seems to be a little bit thinner than my other cake pans - should I change the temperature of the oven? etc I do hope that to be able to flip it and then frost it. I will probably be cranking out 20 or so of these. Any suggestions are welcome - even if it is not something I mentioned.
 
Cake pans are generally filled 2/3 to 3/4 of the way with batter.



You can always place it on a sheet pan if you are worried about the bottom burning.



If it is textured, you realize you are going to have to be extremely careful and thorough about greasing and flouring it so that cake(s) come out cleanly, yes?


I personally would do a test run now with a single cake if you are going to need to make that many.
 
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Thank you - that is good advice. If I add a little more liquid to the batter - say 1 1/4 cups of hot water instead of 1 cup - will the top of the cake be more flat? I know it will make it easier to pour. Yes, I will do a prototype - probably two or three (good think I like cake, and my colleagues as well) and will weigh each one before cooking to be able to repeat the process accurately.
 
I had a pan like that years ago. It held one cake mix worth of batter. I used to put it on a cookie sheet for ease. Spray or grease well for easy removal. I covered cardboard rectangles with foil to transport/serve the cake.
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Thank you - that is good advice. If I add a little more liquid to the batter - say 1 1/4 cups of hot water instead of 1 cup - will the top of the cake be more flat? I know it will make it easier to pour. Yes, I will do a prototype - probably two or three (good think I like cake, and my colleagues as well) and will weigh each one before cooking to be able to repeat the process accurately.
I wouldn't add more liquid. It could mess up the chemistry of the recipe. If the top isn't flat, just trim it off and eat it ;)
 
I wouldn't add more liquid. It could mess up the chemistry of the recipe. If the top isn't flat, just trim it off and eat it ;)

Ditto. Just follow the recipe exactly. Excellent advice from GG. When you place the batter in the pan, take a spatula and gently push some of the batter to the sides leaving a slight dip in the center. Then bake.

Do please let us know how you make out. Would love to see pictures of the end product. Good Luck with you cake making project.
 
I forgot to mention, there is a detailed guide with step by step pictures in this month's Food Network magazine for the first link I posted.
 
Thank you all...I am beginning to think that maybe cupcakes would be more convenient. I bought 2 pans, each will make 12 small cupcakes, though I am feeling a bit guilty..small means about 1/8 of a cup each...still we are taking about making hundreds of these suckers...I will have to practice that this weekend! I tried a small heart shaped pan - about 6" at its widest. I filled the pan half full (or half empty) ...the cake cooked up to about 1/3" from the top of the pan - which is what I was hoping, but formed a large "volcano" in the center, about 1.5" above the top of the pan. Why did this happen? I will try filling the pan 1/3 of the way next time.
 
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It's not the amount of batter in the cake pan that causes the doming effect, it's the way it cooks. The heat causes the outside of the cake to cook faster, thus limiting the rising time. The inside of the cake takes longer to cook than the outside, thus, more rising time, thus creating the dome. There are a few ways to minimize this. They are listed here.


Why are you being so skimpy on the batter? Is is because you think that it is causing the doming or are you trying to save money? What kind of event is this for? You don't really want the cakes to look skimpy (cheap) at all, but there are some events where you definitely DON'T want to look cheap.


Regardless, I would use cupcake liners as well. That will cut down on your greasing/flouring time (and costs, including labor), as well as minimize cake waste if they stick and don't come out correctly.
 
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