It's the 3D snowman pan -
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku7072176/index.cfm?pkey=cxmsbkgi&cm%5Fsrc=None

My fiance wants to get it for me because I LOVE snowmen. However, the example cake they had at the store was sliding apart at the seam, terribly iced, etc, and it made me leery about getting it.

Good idea, bad idea? It's baked as front/back and then put together. Anyone have experience with this type of construction?

I was eyeballing that pan as well. You'd think they'd have their display cakes decorated....more professionally...
Anyways, I think it would be fine as a standing snowman if you doweld him in two spots horizontally, that way he wouldn't be able to slip appart. I'm sure you can decorate him nicer as well...LOL

I think that maybe if you use hardening icing in between the two cakes it will be fine. If not you could always put both halves flat on a cake platter.

candy melts as the glue.

My fiance suggested wrapping him in fondant to hold together easier. Think it would work? Or be too difficult?

would work after glue and doweling (i'd do both for safety)...and would give a very smooth finish...just lots of little nooks to work it into.

DH just bought it for me tonight - I am a little afraid of how it is going to turn out, trun I am never impressed with the store cake displays. I mean they don't have to be ultra professional, but they could be a little nicer. If anyone is brave enough to try fondant on this I'd LOVE to see a picture!

I was trying to figure out how I could get sanding sugar evenly sprinkled over the whole thing before the icing crusts over...

I would think sprinkling from the top would give the snow effect. Read here that you can put some in your hand and blow it on, if it's for family.

Did you get the pan only, or the one with the smores mix and spatula?

Bummer! Did not see the one with the Smores mix and spatula!

I bought this just before Thanksgiving and I hate it. I baked it four differnt times- I greased, greased and floured, buttered, and even tried the spray. It always tore when I would turn it out on a cooling rack.

Let me know when you bake it - how it turns out - and then tell me what you did - maybe I will try again.

I would glue with candy melts and dowel at a slant from one side to the other before the melts hardened completely. If you put it BACK in the mold while the melts hardened, that might help with gravity pushing the sides together...
Let us know, someone!

Anyone brave enough to try?

I'm interested in the pan too, so I have sent them an e-mail about it, if they answer I will post it here.

I have the pan, but only made the front of the snowman and laid him down on a cake board. I have the Santa stand up pan, made that one (both sides), frosted w/buttercream (inside and out) and put two dowels in horizontally. Held up fine.

When I first looked at it and read your first post I thought instantly you could dowel it at the top of the belly as well as the bottom of the tushy lol.... going from front of back and then cover in maybe poured fondant (never done it before so excuse me if it's a huge no no lol) or maybe buttercream

Well, I tried it yesterday (I actually have a "Help" post on this)

It was beautiful for about 10 minutes before it fell over and broke.

It only took about 3 hours to make the cake and frosting!

Their buttercream recipe called for regular sugar and you had to cook it? Maybe it would "glue" together better with regular buttercream?

I am not sure about dowling it - how woudl you take the dowels out before serving? The cake is not that large that you could cut around it.

Maybe next time I would sue the 3d recipe from here and make some attempt to dowel it.

Very dissapointing!

I've made this snowman many times.....last year, and every time he fell over!! you have to use a pound cake or it will fall over, no matter how many dowls you put in him.


melody

Thank you for all the info! As much as I LOVE snowmen, this pan is a no go.

I've been eyeballing that pan as well... can't wait to see how everyone's turns out...

edit: just saw everyone's responses...maybe I'll pass...lol

On the Food Network Cartoon Cake Challenge they used Choc Ganache to hold the Scooby Doo mummy's coffin to the cake board then tilted it upright - maybe ganache would work?

I'm gonna try it this weekend - I'll let you know how it goes!

melodyscakes - would you make the cke again using the pound cake and dowels - do you think that this would work?

I am determined to get this one!!

Well, Williams_Sonoma never got back to me about this pan. Did any of you try it?

I wonder if you got two of the pans and filled and clamped them together like you do on the 3-D Wilton pans if that would work. Yeah, you would have 2 snowmen, but I think a cake could use 2! Or I wonder if there is a way to cut the pan in 2 halves and clamp the pan together to make one.

Zmama, maybe you should make one and decorate it and take it in to Williams-Sonoma and then maybe they will commission you to do all of the other holiday cakes for them. Just tell them you noticed theirs was falling apart and thought they could use a display model.

I broke down and bought the pan this weekend, despite all the problems...mainly b/c it was on sale for $16.99 at W/S! lol, um, I hope my gingerbread cake works in it...

i saw this pan yesterday on ebay for 20 dollars and plus the shipping good luck

just made an eggnog cake. slid right out of the pan with no problems! seems a little flimsy, so we'll see if it stands up once I put it together...

Several people have said they were baking this...Any luck so far? Inquiring minds want to know...

I also had my eye on that pan, I too want to know who was successful and what they did.

Are you talking about the 3 D stand up snowman pan? I have used this pan several times. The first thing I question is why are you baking two halves? I use a mix that I add a package of instant pudding to make it more stable. It ends up more like a pound cake. I use nonstick baking spray to coat the pan before filling. The directions that came with my pan says to fill the front half of the pan to the top with batter, then to secure the back half to the front half with wire through the holes in the pans. I used floral wire. Set the pan on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 till cake tester comes out clean in the hole provided in the pan. The cake rises to the top and makes a perfect snowman. You will have to trim the bottom flat for it to stand up. Then I used bamboo skewers to anchor the cake to the board or to the base cake. I used the snowman pan for the friendly monster cake in my gallery. I hope this helps you all.

OOPs Just realized I am talking about a different pan. SORRY

I tried it - used 2 cake mixes - one in each side - still did not rise properly and the top half of both sides did not fill in - even though the bottom of each was Way over filled!!!