I had the opportunity over the weekend to make my first baby shower cake. I was SO excited. I've had the Wilton 3-D Duck pan for a while, just waiting on the opportunity to use it! I decided this would be the perfect time! The mom-to-be wanted chocolate cake (of course!). This was for our children's choir director at church and since I'm one of the leaders, I volunteered to do the cake. We knew the kids would get a kick out of giving Ms Amy a shower. Anyways, we usually have around 50 kids, so I figured 75 - 100 people with parents. I did a tier cake with 2 rounds (chocolate cake w/cookies & cream filling), iced them blue with bubbles and cutesie duck, rattles, bottles, etc candy molds around it. Then, I put the duck cake (pound cake) on top and decorated. It was SO cute!! I was running late and decided to just grab my camera and get a picture after I got set up at church.

As I walked into the back door of the church, the duck's tail separated from the body. It was still upright, so I figured, no problem, as soon as I get upstairs, I'll just stick it together with some icing stolen from a spot in the back or something. As the elevator door opens and I'm walking off, the tail falls on the floor and the body & head decide to lay down for a nap.

I had cut a small piece of board for the duck to sit on with 3 dowels under it for stability. Mr duck didn't want to sit up straight, so I sharpened a dowel and put it through the duck and all the way through both tiers so he would be more stable. I also noticed his head wanted to fall over, so I put a dowel there too.

Please help me figure out why he bit the dust!! He's the cutest little guy ever, but I'm hesitant to use him again. Any advice would be greatley appreciated! Everyone at church got a bick kick out of it and told me how pretty it was anyway. Of course we still ate it, it was chocolate after all! I'm just SO thankful it wasn't an ordered/paid for cake!! I would really feel bad if it had been. Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated. Sorry for the long post!

Tonya

I recently made a cake, too, with a duck on it. I had a board and dowels underneath the board AND I even had a sharpened dowel down through the duck through to the bottom of the cake. It fell over in no time.

Luckily, this was still on my table...so I ran to the store and got a toy rubber ducky.

Sorry, I couldn't help you solve your problem, but I had a similar story and wanted to share also.

Hint, hint: kinda curious, too, as what some people might say bout this........anyone????

Poor ducky! I have not used the pan but I cannot imagine what else you could have done with all the dowelling and everything.

Hopefully, someone with experience will see this post.

Cindy

Pretty sure you can a good sized candy duck mold. After reading this, that's probably what I would use. If you think it would be too heavy you could make it hollow. But it can't be heavier than the cake ducky.

I did the duck when it first came out, I used a yellow DH cake mix I had no problems with it breaking or cracking. My problem was I had to decorate it in a hotel room and forgot the sharpened dowel so it fell over, I put it back up and repaired the icing everything was fine after that.

Thanks guys!! I'm glad I'm not the only one with duckie problems! I might try a DH mix next time instead of scratch....PURELY EXPERIMENTAL ON MY OWN $$$ AND TIME!!!! If that doesn't work, you may see my duckie pan on Ebay!

I'm glad to hear all this ducky business now, rather than later when I'm experiencing it for myself! I've had similar issues with the Wilton 3D sheep pan..

In hindsight, I think I would have used a pound cake mix rather than a traditional red velvet -- but this was one of my first cakes, baked for my own 21st birthday. I was remembering fondly the armadillo groom's cake from "Steel Magnolias"...

The head fell off as soon as I applied icing to the cake. I stuck it back on with a plastic dowel rod -- which ended up cleaving so much of the interior of the cake that the head crumbled apart entirely. I ended up piling on about a pound of icing to make up for the fact that the sheep was, basically, headless.

I wish I could say no one was the wiser, but the effect was quite noticable, particularly since this was years before any decorating experience and there were smears of red and crumbs all through the icing anyway. The best comment I received was "Wow!" (which is usually good), but it was followed by "...What happened to it?"

I hate when you spend sooooo much time on a cake and it does not turn out!!

I can completely relate to this duckie problem. I ended up trying to skewer my duck cake with a couple of dowel rods to keep it together. In the long run it really just looked like a duck who'd been shot through with arrows. While not what I was going for, it was luckily for a friend and we all had a good laugh over it in the long run.

Best of luck if you try it again!

I actually had the same problem with a 3D bunny pan. It was for Easter dessert when my in-laws came to visit for the first time (1993). I was so proud. While posing for the picture my mother-in-law was taking, the head fell down. We laughed so hard we cried. Really, it broke the ice for us and we've been dear friends since. Never tried a 3D cake again.

But, i'd be willing if we got some good advise on how to keep this from happening.

I haven't had the torture of trying to use that ducky cake pan, but this idea occurred to me as I read all of your admittedly-hilarious tales of woe with the darn thing ...

What about if you just shoved that 3-D pan full of Rice Krispie treats? Then covered THAT resulting form with fondant or buttercream? It seems like the ducky would be lighter, more able to hold itself together, and less prone to requiring a dozen arrows shot through it.

The very same thing happened to me when I used that duck pan. A lady I worked with asked me to make the cake for her daughter's first birthday party. I was running late and when I finally finished it, I rushed out the door to meet her. I was one stop light away from the destination and I looked back at the cake...the duck's head had fallen completely off.

I started crying and when I got there I cried even more. I showed it to her and apologized over and over again. Obviously, that was the last time I used that pan.

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

I don't understand how Wilton and all the great decorators on this site get the duckie to look so darn cute! I'm thinking cement may work next time, then you could always use it in the garden after the party.

for 3D pans you MUST use a POUND CAKE mix or other dense cake. Or I think you can "add" ingredients to a cake mix to make it denser and that will help. The regular mix is just too "light, moist, and fluffy" and doesn't hold up well in that shape. I've had that happen too... I made a cute duck and had a bowling pin on it's little behind (see www.rubbaducks.com for ideas) and it started to fall apart.... I still took it to the birthday b/c it was my gift - and it DID taste good.... but I was so upset and frustrated. I think there's a cake recipe for Madeira cake that is supposed to be good for 3D stuff too - haven't tried it yet. I love the 3D cakes and I have several pans and haven't had too many problems as long as I used a denser cake mix/recipe. I think it even calls for that in the instructions.....

HTH (i just figured out what that acronym means by the way!)

Ksue, I like the rice krispy treat idea!

The head fell off as soon as I applied icing to the cake. I stuck it back on with a plastic dowel rod -- which ended up cleaving so much of the interior of the cake that the head crumbled apart entirely. I ended up piling on about a pound of icing to make up for the fact that the sheep was, basically, headless.



I couldn't help myself -- I actually LOL! So, wanted to give you for a terrific description of what happened! But, so sorry that it did!

Sarah

I want that duck pan, but am afraid to try it. I have the 3D bunny pan, and I have not gotten it to bake correctly yet. The batter doesn't rise properly to fill it all the way........... of course, I gave up after two tries, so maybe if I keep at it.......

Now the bear, I have done that several times with no problems.

I am so sorry this happened to you. I hate when hard work ends in disaster. But even with a disaster, the cake still tastes good!

I have the duck pan, but have not used it yet. I wondered about the physics of the pan when I bought it, about how the head would stay up. Telling us about your disaster will help us to not have the same kind of disaster. Thank you for that!

I think the falling over problem might be helped by cutting some off the bottom, so the base is wider and flatter. And then decorate like it is in a lake or a bathtub. As for the head, I am not sure about that... maybe rice krispie treats for just the head, so it will be lighter, and use a small dowel or two to attach it to the body. I think I will try that when I do use that pan.

Better Luck next time!

When I made the 3-D duck for my son's birthday, I baked the cake (chocolate, betty crocker, not doctored), and froze it in the pan, wrapped in foil. It was in the freezer for about 3 days before I decorated it. When I decorated it while it was still mostly frozen and I never had a problem with it falling apart. I did, however, have to shave the bottom of the cake a little where the 2 halves of the pan came together and made a ridge that made the duck want to lean to the side. I was a little afraid to use this pan after reading all the horror stories on here about headless ducks and teddy bears, but it turned out well.

Use a dense cake. Really. Like the mint chocolate cream cheese pound cake from Chocolate For the Cake Mix Doctor. When you bake the ducky cake, be SURE to cool it according to the directions that came with the pan... Open one side of the pan, cool for a few minutes, put the top of the pan back on, turn it over, and cool the other side. Completely cool cake is sturdier than cake that's even remotely warm.

Also, the bottom of the ducky won't be level. You'll have to trim it.

I think the most important part is: Don't spatula the icing onto the ducky, especially the head. Use a large basketweave tip as if it were an icer tip, then gently smooth the icing out once the icing is piped on.

When I made the ducky before (and will be doing again in two weeks), I went ahead and cut the head off, turned it a bit so it was looking at a toy ducky beside his bathtub, and then used icing and a dowel through it to keep it in place. I think, but I am not sure, that cutting off the head so that it was a separate piece and when it wobbled, wouldn't compromise the neck, might have helped me out. Worth a try, anyway.

You can see it on my website under "Sculpted Cake".

Deanna

TooMuchCake - your cakes on your website are WONDERFUL! You are very talented!

What type of icing did you use for your duck cake and, if you don't mind me asking, is the washcloth made of?

Thank you, Tricia! The ducky is buttercream, the bathtub is fondant, and the washcloth and bathmat are fondant, too. You can make a terrycloth effect by flicking the fondant with a toothpick to rough it up.

Deanna

I have been decorating for a long time and along time ago Wilton had a 3D tiger and this happened to me too..I was so upset after all that hard work and I had not been decorating that long. So after that I use a dense cake like a pound cake and I cut 2 wooden dowel rods to fit at the head and neck area and I put them in the batter before I bake it. I bake it and this gives the extra support rather then putting them down into the cake after it was baked which might cause it to crack. I made the duckie cake for one of my daughters baby shower this way and had no problem with it. Hope this helps.