This Shape Pan Offers Enchanting Possibilites

Do you love the shape pans available, but wish you could get more than one use out of them? Relax, with a little ingenuity, you can adjust pans for several different themes. As an example, I've chosen the Enchanted Castle pan from Wilton. All of the below pictures were pulled off of Wilton.com. The first picture is the one posted in the 1996 yearbook. Directions for making this cake are included with the pan, or can be downloaded from Wilton.com.


Next, we have the haunted mansion. The jump from princess castle to scary Halloween retreat is easy to see, but how about the next one?


The Lighthouse seascape cake is a nice adjustment for a summer vacation celebration, or going away celebration for someone interested in rocky beaches.






















And Christmas cake anyone? This array of candles could easily be adjusted to celebrate a fifth anniversary, or with a tweak, change the candles to people and you could picture your family. The possibilities are endless.

To buy the cake pan, and any supplies you may need, check out our Website.

Wedding Cake Toppers

One of the little decisions that makes an impact on your wedding is your cake. There are as many ways to decorate a wedding cake as there are people but most couples are going to want some kind of wedding topper on the cake. Because of this, Wilton makes a wide range of toppers to fit nearly any couple.

You have the traditional toppers like this white resin topper named Elegance. One advantage to toppers like this is they can also be great keepsakes of your wedding day.





This resin full-color figure is called Threshold of Happiness and shows the groom carrying the bride for luck.















Bianca is a clear resin topper that can be placed alone on the cake or with a lighted base.










For those who aren't drawn to the strictly traditional, there are lots of other great options as well. Toppers Now I Have You and Ball and Chain offer a more humorous approach to cake decorating.
















Another option all together is to use a simple double heart pick like this one.

Stop by our Website to see more wedding cake topper options, or any of our other wedding supplies.

Simplify Pastry Making

Today I'm highlighting three more of the Wilton Better Baking Tools. This time we'll focus on tools designed for making pastry. All three of these items come with comfortable, ergonomic handles and are completely dishwasher safe.

This pastry blender is unlike anything else I've ever seen. Not only does it come with a cleaning rake or clip on the side that slides around the wires to loosen or remove butter when it begins to gum up the wires, but the wires themselves are different The two outside wires and the middle one are thicker to easily cut through thick pieces of butter or shortening. Then there are two thinner wires on each side of the middle wire to help blend finer pieces of butter into the dry ingredients. There's even a note on the back of the package that suggests using chilled butter makes for a delicate and flaky crust.

In my own experience, you can blend the dough as much as you need to before adding liquids to your pie crust, but once you add the water, vinegar, and/or egg, mix only until the dough is evenly moist to prevent the crust from coming out tough.

The pastry wheel has stainless steel blades in both straight and scalloped shapes. This allows you to shape your pastry however you like. This tool also boasts an easy rolling axle and the smooth wheel works great for cutting pasta as well!

I've always used one of those cheap pastry brushes to spread oils or butter mixtures at home. It works, but it doesn't clean up as easily as I would like. The Wilton Silicone Pastry Brush is wonderful. Instead of round bristles, these silicone bristles are curved to make channels that hold liquids. The bristles and lower end of the brush are heat resistant and can handle temperatures up to 500 degrees without melting!

To learn more about these great products and see what else is available, visit our Website.

Great Tools Simplify Baking

As part of my Tools of the Trade series, I'm covering a few fun products today that can simplify most any job.

First is the Twist 'n Measure measuring cup. This versatile tool has a rotating dial on the bottom that allows the user to adjust the size from 1 cup, through 3/4, 1/2, 13/, 1/4, and even an 1/8 cup measure. This cup is dishwasher safe on the top rack, and the dial can be removed completely for cleaning. It can even be used for liquid ingredients!

Do you love to decorate cakes? This cake lifter slides easily below cakes up to 16" so you can lift and move them from one surface to another. It's fine-chiseled edge won't damage cakes. It is made from durable, easy-to-clean stainless steel, is dishwasher safe and the non-slip comfort handle is precisely angled to lift heavy cakes with ease.

Wilton's Silicone Oven Mitt is a great asset to any kitchen. The high-heat silicone will protect your hands from heat and steam in your kitchen or at the grill. It withstands temperatures up to 500 degrees! Both the inside and outside of the mitt are textured to improve grip on heavy pots and pans and the mitt is designed to fit on either hand. The non-porous surface of the mitt resists staining, and is totally dishwasher safe.

To see these or any of our other great baking products, visit us at our Web site.

Simplify Decorating in the Round

Bake even strips area great option for those looking for a nice, even cake height. Because they keep the sides of the cake from cooking too quickly, they help larger round cakes to bake flat on top with a nice moist consistency all the way through. You simply attach wrap the strips around the pan before placing it in the oven. They are oven safe.

They come in large and small sizes. The package of large strips has enough for a 10", 12", 14" and 16" pan. The package of smaller strips comes with two strips, one for an 8" pan, and one for a 9" pan.This revolving cake stand can make most decorating projects simpler. It lifts cakes three inches off the table and with an 11-inch width, easily accommodates a 10" round cake. With a smooth ball-bearing mechanism, this cake stand will turn in either direction.Have trouble getting your icing smooth? A metal spatula may be just the thing. This 15" option has an angled blade and contoured handle, but straight blades in 11" or 15" lengths are also available.

Make a Special Treat

Recently I tried out a new treat that will melt in your mouth. Since I had some extra egg whites on hand after another cooking project I whipped them up in my mixer. I used three whites. When the whites are stiff, but not dry I added a 1/4 cup of powdered sugar per white, so in this case, 3/4 cup of sugar. Since I was low on powdered sugar, I put the 3/4 cup of regular, granulates sugar in my blender and ran it for 30 to 60 seconds.
Incorporate the sugar slowly as you continue to beat the eggs. Continue to mix until it doesn't feel grainy when a little bit is rubbed between your forefinger and thumb. It is important that all of the sugar is dissolved.
Next spoon the mixture into a pastry bag. If you prefer the disposable parchment-type bags, that works as well. I used tip #822 onmy bag, but any open-star tip will work.It's best to use parchment paper on the cookie sheet so the meringue treats will lift off easily after baking. If you don't have any parchment, don't use waxed paper or oil as it will break down the egg whites. Start by making the base the width you like, then slowly spiral upward until you reach the middle.

Alternately, if you have trouble making spirals, you could hold it down until it pushes out enough to make the right sized base, then continue to dispense as you slowly lift your bag.
If you want to dress things up, now is a great time to add colored sprinkles or little candies.Put in a cool oven (about 325) for 30 minutes and then let them cool down with the oven. If they start to brown turn the oven down.You could add lemon juice and zest, other flavorings...next time I'm going to try cocoa powder.

Great Tools for Cake Baking

Every activity has certain tools that make the job easier. For a carpenter it might be a hammer or drill, a writer might need a laptop or AlphaSmart, and many medical professionals can't work without a blood pressure cuff. But if you do much baking, here are a few great tools you'll wonder how you ever lived without.

A cake leveler like this can make the difference between a cake that forms an inverted bowl, and one that is nice and flat on top. This tool has an adjustable height up to three inches high and eighteen inches wide. Simply twist the feet to lock the height at the desired place. We also have a smaller one that is great for cakes up to ten inches wide and two inches tall. This is a great help when making torts, too.
Among our other whisks and spoons, this Cyclone Whisk has a silicone coated central spiral that adds more air to batter than a traditional whisk. The silicone coating makes the whisk easier to clean. It has an ergonomic handle for easier gripping and sturdy wires and a large head for more versatility. It is also dishwasher safe--two of my favorite words.

This 12" rolling pin not only boasts a great easy-clean non-slip surface, but it's dishwasher safe. In fact, it's the only rolling pin on the market that is fully submersible. The smooth-action roller, and the push-button release on the handles are added benefits available only in the Wilton Rolling Pin. The smooth surface of the barrel makes it perfect for rolling fondant or dough. A must-have for every kitchen!
Stop by our Website to see what other great tools we have available for the dedicated cook!