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(More customer reviews)Okay, the obvious is that the bear pan bakes 1/2 of a vertical left-right 3D bear slice.
These slices are great for putting on the top of a cake flat, not so much for a 3D finished bear cake.
The cake pan is well-made, non-stick, and solid and bakes like a charm despite some core flaws with the finished cake assembly.
Use a flat cookie sheet under the baking pan to keep the pan level while baking.
I would recommend the Wilton 3D bear cake pan over this one after using this cake pan.
The 1/2 bear slices really stink at trying to assemble into a 3D bear (3rd baked cake in a few days) as a unit. The reason is that the head is too heavy for the body and the head halves always break off, and since cold cake frosting is not really adhesive enough, the bear wants to split down the middle and the back of the bear (first attempt unmodified cake mix). My recommendation is to deliberately cut the bear's head off after flipping over the baking pan (cool for an hour), glue the two halves of the body with frosting (frost both inside halves, set on plate, glue the two halves of the head with frosting, set on plate, refrigerate for an hour, then put on your crumb coat (microwave a 1/3 cup of your frosting in a microwave safe bowl + 2 TBSP of milk for 45 seconds to liquefy) this sticky crumb coat you then paint with a basting brush onto the bear head and bear body separately so as to allow proper frosting later. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes to solidify the sticky coating. If you put the bear head on the bear body before both have "glued" together, the whole thing will just collapse in a non-bear cake failure. Put the head on the bear after the frosting crumb coat has cooled enough for the final real frosting stage.
Firstly, if you make the cake mix on the box (a cornbread type of cake), the volume of cake mix does not rise to fill the pan so your bear is missing a gap of 1/2 inch on both sides of the bear middle when joining ***I do not recommend using the cake mix listed on the box until they get the ingredient amounts fixed for filling the cake mold out properly*** (2nd attempt unmodified cake mix).
A standard cake mix is too fragile for assembling the cake (Pound Cake mix is recommended), but a standard cake mix can work with some alteration so replace 1/3 cup of oil (if your cake mix recommends this) with 2 TBSP of melted butter (or oil) + 5 TBSP of cornstarch (for adhesion and strengthening purposes - this is still an experimental amount so increase or decrease if you feel it would work better. Adding another egg into the mix might help too for cake solidity, but I haven't tried it). Also, you *NEED 2 BOXES* of your desired cake mix to fill the cake mold. Any extra mix can be used to fill 4 to 5 cupcakes. Fill the mold halves so that you have 3/4 inches from the top not filled, with this cake mold you want a bit of overfill so you can slice off the excess with a large knife or wire, underfill means the nose or tail will not fill out, but it is best to use a spoon to push cake mix into the nose and tail areas prior to putting the mold into the oven. For the cake mixes to bake at 325 °F degrees, you'll be baking for 60 minutes (or the cake center will remain gooey, but cooking time can be reduced by 10 minutes if you slice off the raised cake bulge before the cake is finished). For cake mixes which bake at 350 °F degrees, then bake for 45 minutes (you gain a reduction in bake time of 5 minutes if you slice off the raised cake bulge early before the cake is done). You want the cake in this case to be a bit extra dry, but not burned. Another tip for gas ovens is to place an empty cookie sheet on an empty rack under the cake to catch overflow and minimize burning at the cake's bottom. Even with cooking my 3rd cake for 60 minutes the inside was still a bit moist (thusly fragile for assembly), you can regain moistness with frosting later when your are gluing the whole thing together with frosting and coating the cake with the "crumb coat" liquid frosting.
What I plan on doing later is cutting the pan down the center flat area, cutting a hole in the bear bottom for mix filling, and then metal C-clamping the two mold halves together with 6 or more C-clamps to mold out the bear cake properly and filling it with the bear upside down. I might have to create or cut a silicone seam to minimize leakage. This way the bear cake is a solid strong unit after baking (head will probably be too heavy without gluing it with frosting later).
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Create a beautiful and uniquely shaped cake with this Build-A-Bear Workshop Cake Pan from Nordic Ware. This cake pan features great detail that is sure to make baking special for every family. The pan also has a nonstick coating which enables you to get the whole cake out safely with out any damage to the design. This licensed Build-A-Bear Workshop cake pan even includes a $5 off coupon on a purchase of $25 or more (expires 12/31/10) at any Build-A-Bear store or online.
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