I have all Magic Line pans with the exception of my 6" rounds, they are Wilton. My larger cakes being in the better pans always come out flat and lovely but my 6" cakes are "mountainesque"! If I ever do a Sound of Music cake I know how to make the mountains!

Anyway, I decided to try something. I put a 6" cake in a 10" pan and filled the pan about an inch deep with water. Then I baked it that way (I figured it works for my cheesecake so why not try it.) Here's the result; photographic evidence that a quality pan (or at least insulating the edges with water or magic strips) makes a big difference!

That's why i use baking strips..........great experiment!

That is amazing! i might have to try that! I bet the cake was moist!

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to give that a try!

Wow! That cake on the left looks like the one I just took out of the oven. I wish I'd see this post earlier!!

Thanks for the great tip!

Missy

Wow! Great tip. Looks like time for an investment.

Uh I have to try this! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the info!! I really want to invest in magic line pans. I have the rectangle sets in 3 sizes of the wilton decorator preferred that i purchased at the tent sale. I am giving my regular wilton 9 x 13 pan to my friend. I can tell the difference in the edges. I can only dream of what my cakes will be like when I bake them in my magic line pans.

For now i will keep dreaming a looking at your 6' flat cake!
Thanks

this is why I love my ML pans they always come out so even that I can even over fill them a bit and it still doesn't runneth over , I could kiss the inventor of ML pans

Wow! Amazing. I can't wait to try this tip!

Just bought magi-strips yesterday, haven't tried them yet, now I can't wait to make a cake what a difference! I was getting tired of edges browning too much, too hard and tasting funny. I'm glad they really are worth the investment. Thanks for posting.

Wow what a great experiment! I had never heard of Magic pans but will be definetly be in investing in the strips. All my cakes look like the one on the left.

What a great tip! I'd love to replace all my Wilton pans, but that's not going to be soon. The bake even strips always seemed like such a hassle, even though I'm sure the results would be better if I'd just take the time and effort. But you're telling me I can just plunk them in a bigger pan and put some water in it and get results like this??? Done!

You would think that the inventor of the magistrips would have figured out an easier way to attach them to the pan. I am tired of poking myself when i attach them. Does velcour work in the oven?? Why didn't they sew velcour (sp) inside of them??? It must have been a MAN who designed them oops (just kidding now)

Oh my!!!! What a great suggestion...think of the cake we'll be saving if we don't have to cut half of it off to get an even top. Thanks so much!!

You just put a smaller pan inside a bigger pan that was filled part way with water and that was it?

Yep, I just put the smaller pan in a larger (10" in this case) with about an inch of water. You will have to bake it longer so keep an eye on it.

As for the Magic Strips, I have those too although I haven't wrapped my 6" pans with them (they'll go around it twice!) When I attach the magic strips I use a metal paper clip (obviously no vinyl coating). That's a whole lot easier than the pin. Someone else on here said they used a metal binder clip. Anything that is all metal will work. Just be sure there is nothing on it that will melt.

The only problem I see with this is the lack of trimmed scraps for snacking.
Great job on the experiment!