Just wanted to suggest a tip. When making your teddy bear cake with the Wilton Teddy Bear Stand Up Mold, make sure that your cake mix does not make a very moist cake! I tried a generic cake mix brand thinking it would be drier than my regular DH mix and it turned out too moist. I thought once it completely cooled I would be able to secure it with frosting and it might hold up better. I left the cake in a cool room and when I returned to check on it I noticed that the head fell off!!!! Surgery was not successful, the head ended up sinking to the base board splitting the rest of the bear shape. Luckily I made it the day before I needed it and had time to make a new cake and it turned out beautifully.

Oh my poor Teddy Bear cakes! I was helping my SIL make one for a baby shower. For some reason, the first cake never rose. It was so sad looking. Must have been a bad mix cause the next one turned out fine. I made one once too where I left the heating core in. As it sat there all iced, the weight of the icing caused one of the feet to break off! I had to perform minor surgery with toothpicks.

My first one, I filled it too full and it ran up and out all over the place, it was red velvet cake so it looked really bad...the only good thing, I had put it on a cookie sheet to bake!

The second one ran over just a little, but it came out well, and I had baked DH with only one pkg. Dream Whip, 1/3 c oil, and one extra egg added.

This was for my 8 yr old grandson for Valentine's Day and I forgot to take a photo and can't get my son to email one to me or it would be in the gallery!

Janice

Janice - I totally forgot to put that in my first message. Put a baking sheet under the bear. Its in the directions but I guess I was too excited the first time that I made one that I missed that part. LOL The cake turned out awesome, but the clean up was not!!.

Also, if anyone has any tips on cooking inside the baking core that would help. After much practice, the cakes are evenly baked but the batter inside the core doesnt cook right. I end up leaving a big hole in the bear.

Anyone have any luck putting filling inside the bear?

CakesbyKimmie

What cake recipe did you end of using when the bear came out fine?

The first time I used Betty Crocker Chocolate and yellow swirled together.

Then I used Aldi's yellow cake mix for another one and that came out, although I was soooooooo nervous because it was moist and I thought the head was gonna fall off. I think the frosting glued it together and held it on.

The third one I used the Aldi's chocolate and the head did fall off. (I should have learned my lesson although the cake tasted yummy. So I just use that brand for my round cakes.)

The last cake was a Duncan Hines Yellow which filled out nicely and was stable.

Also, I used to use milk instead of water to make my cakes moist, but with the Teddy Bear found that water works better.

Do you think a flower nail would work instead of the core? I guess they may be too short to stand up in the mold...what about those nails we used to use to bake potatoes, I'll bet that would work, I wonder where mine are...! It is obvious that the bear has to have some help baking thoroughly, and maybe it needs to be a more dense type of cake batter. Once it is baked, maybe put a dowel up through it from the bottom to prevent the head from falling off! Janice

I just remembered. With the second bear, I loosened him from the mold completely, but then put him back into the back piece to let him cool, maybe that helped him keep his head! I use DH mixes!

I think some people actually cut the head off and then put a plate under it and dowel the body of the bear to keep it on. I didn't realize it was necessary, but maybe so?

I finally got the photos of the Valentine Teddy Bear that I made for my grandson and posted them just now.

When I make another one, I will be V E R Y careful with his head! Janice

I actually tried my hand at this teddy bear cake last week. It was quite a thing to tackle since it was my 3rd cake to do and I am still in Wilton class I (graduating SAT.) I thought it turned out ok though and I used a pound cake mix and a generic cake mix-mixed together. I used the left over batter to make a 8 in layer cake for practicing roses and decorating. I used the baking core in the bear and it turned out fine. I had no problem with it wanting to fall apart.

I also cooled it upside down for 10-15 min then removed the clips opened up the front long enough
for the steam to excape, then turned it over and did the same with the back. Put the pan back together and let it completely cool.

Thank you, I think he is cute, but he isn't exactly easy to bake or to decorate! This is the mini stand-up bear, I haven't gotten the "cupcake" size...not too sure I want it if it is hard to manage!

I just this minute realized you were baking the larger version of this stand up bear...good grief, this little one is hard enough to deal with, I can just imagine trying to keep the head on the bigger one!
The only other thing I can think of that might help is leaving him in half of the pan, maybe switching sides partway, while he cools, might help him hold together, and I would definitely put a dowell from his head down through to the base just for insurance! Janice

I have the large character pan called Huggable Bear, (he is flat) but haven't used it myself. I've been collecting pans, mostly from eBay.

Janice, I am soo with you on the ebay thing. It seems like I am collecting pans too! I have the urge to bake but not enough hours in the day.
My mom has actually found some awesome pans for me at estate sales and such. That huggable bear pan sounds cool. Maybe less work? Works for me : P

And yes, the big bear is challenging. I love this pan because the bear comes out soo cute! It is definitly a lot of work but in the end is worth it.


NEWTODECORATING, Thank you for the cooling tips. I always did what the directions said and think that it was just the density of the cake mix that made the head fall off. Not enough support. I will have to experiement with the Aldi cake mix and cooling methods.


I have a bake sale coming up soon for work and am going to make another bear. I am also gonna see if I can get the mini stand up bear. He looked adorable.

Do you know what other tips I can use for the fur? I have just been using the star tip. It comes out cute but is a lot of work.

Below is a pic of my first bear for my sister's bday.

Kimmie...your teddy is so adorable holding his balloon! I've seen teddies done with the fur tip but I think that would be just as time consuming as doing stars. I also saw a teddy that was done with a tip 21...it looked really good and would probably take less time than the smaller star tips.

That is really cute with the bear holding the balloon!
I'm going to try one with the tip 21, those little stars do take a long time to do! For a larger party, I think I'd do the huggable bear, and the mini bear for the birthday child, the kids like having this little guy all to themselves!

Your little Teddy Bear is simply adorable. I like making these cakes. My suggestion to you is to use either pound cake or spice cake. I have never had a problem with them as they come out very firm and yet tender to eat. Keep the good work!

I am laughing so hard i am crying...now don't be offended...I am the Queen of cake mistakes...and have had a ton of them lately! I just imagined walking in and seeing the headless bear. Made me feel a little better! I am glad the next one turned out so cute!

Hello, I'm Jennifer and I'm new to posting on these boards but I've been a lurker for a little while... well, my wilton stand-up teddy bear experience has brought me out of "lurkdom." I'll try to figure out how to post a picture at the end.

I had a request for this doll cake using the stand-up teddy bear pan. It was a combination of several cakes from various wilton year books. Instead of a bear it was to be a little girl wearing a fondant jack-o-lantern suit. She was to have curly fondant hair and a fondant ribbon in her hair. I worked HOURS on this one Friday evening. (The cake was due on Saturday afternoon at 4:00.) I went to bed Friday night feeling very proud of my accomplishment. I got up on Saturday morning and had to drive my three kids 45 minutes to meet my sister who would be taking them overnight for a sleepover. Before walking out the door I checked on the cake and well... the entire front of the cake had fallen off! I guess the weight of the fondant hair and the fondant bow was just too much. The little girl's head, face and the entire front of the cake was lying in a heap at the base of the cake!

So, I had to go ahead and drive the 45 minutes to meet my sister and drop off the kids. I bought another cake mix while I was out and got home... baked it... cooled it.... decorated it... and delivered it at 4:30... the exact time the party was to begin! WHEW!

Hope I can get the picture to post because it really did turn out cute... but it was a NIGHTMARE. Oh... and forgot to mention that on that second cake... the feet kept falling off. The next time I made this cake for someone... the feet kept falling off! I just stuck some bamboo skewers in each time and tried to prop up the feet with something underneath.

Okay, I guess I don't know how to post a picture but if you'll go to my webshots you can see it. Here's the link:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/213775435/269628702pWCLah

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Jennifer,
Your cake turned out sooooooooo cute!!

As you can tell, the bear mold is kinda tricky. I still believe its all in the mix. The drier the mix the better.

My other suggestion is to make the cake in at least two days in advance. Like next week I am making a bear on tuesday, decorating on wed and bringing it to the bake sale on Thursday. That way I will know if it is gonna hold and it gives me time to plan accordingly.
I like the idea of the bamboo supports.

Also, did you fill your bear cake? I leave mine unfilled, not sure if it makes a difference. Last time I put the inside cake in the whole is when it decapitated itself. LOL

Any other cute ideas on how to use the bear mold?

Thanks,
Kim

Thanks! I actually left the metal core in both times! I was afraid to try and get it out! I have the 3D Winnie the Pooh pan and had made it several times without any problems so I was really surprised to have so much trouble with this one! Next time (if there is a next time) I will do as you suggested and make it several days in advance!

I have one cooling even as I type, so I hope that things go OK! My son's kindergarten graduation is this Thursday so my plan was to make today (along with two sheet cakes) and decorate tomorrow. I do have a crack around the neck area (mixed a pound cake with a DH) and have put in a skewer, JIC. Wow! I wish I'd read this thread before I started. Or maybe not, I might have chickened out!!

BTW, his class are the Terriffic Teddies, so I really hope this works! I'm making a modar board for him too.

Debi

I've never done a stand up anything but I've been told to use a pound cake recipe for the cake. It holds up a lot better~