Is this possible? Actually baking a cake in a terra cotta pot to get the shape of a flower pot? Just thought I would ask?

I have heard that you can do this. I think I have seen it done with mini ones for cupcakes. I personally don't think I would try it because the pot is not sealed and you could never be sure what type of dyes were used to color it. Just my thoughts.

I too, have wondered about this. Any advice out there?

I did. My daughter lives 2 hours away. Last year I made her a purse cake. It looked more like a sheet cake when we arrived. This year I took no risks. I used a new, well-scrubbed clay pot with parchment cut to fit. I used a double layer of parchment paper over the bottom hole. Next, I sprayed it with cake release and added my batter. When I removed the cake, I torted and filled it, gently returning it to the pot. Easy to make and no problems traveling, even over several sets of railroad tracks.
I used extra batter for cupcakes. I positioned them on top with toothpicks after we arrived. She loved it.

I have heard that is a no-go unless you get one specifically mandated food-safe. There will be sites that say to do it, but there are also sites that say you can use normal rubber stamps on cookies for aluminum flashing from the hardware store to make cookie cutters, which are both proven to be not the way to go.

Here is sometbing I found on the subject on a how-to bake in terra cotta flower pot:

Here is the full link:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5811536_bake-terra-cotta-flower-pots.html

Here is something from Kansas State University Research & Extension Agents:

I would play it safe and if you can find the manufacturer's information, I would call and ask them if it is deemed foodsafe.

If it helps, I recently found small silicone flower pots expressly for baking at Michael's. They are part of their new Mary Engelbreit collection and they work very well with cupcake size treats. I tried to do a search to get a link to show you, but I could not find anything. They aren't cheap, but the Micheal's 40% coupons helps a lot.

Tracy, I am playing SAFE, not gonna do it. Thanks for the info.

Or you can buy the lead-free kits like these...
www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/82/c/AAAAAq394tQAAAAAAILAlQ.png&imgrefurl=http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/pre-baked-and-pre-assembled-gingerbread-house-kit&usg=___HmXUX31a1zKHmnURGUaarEDvmc=&h=150&w=133&sz=25&hl=en&start=154&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=b8xaq49Yeo3BsM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=85&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dflower%2Bpot%2Bcake%2Bkit%26start%3D140%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1
that sell for $8-9 on various sites. They come in Gingerbread Cake, Chocolate, Apple Spice, Pumpkin Spice, Happy Birthday, and Friendship Bread.

Where would you buy a food grade terra cotta pot? I have no idea!

More interesting facts I was reading....
http://www.abigslice.com/flowerpotbread.html

Am I to understand that the oiling and baking of the pots with make them food safe?

That is what I was wondering. It's almost like "ceramics" I am guessing. They bake bread in pots why couldn't it be cake? Now I am REALLY confused! Hee! Good thing I have the month of May to figure this out!

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6678624-.html

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-325610.html

Another source I saw said that there is concern of lead whether they were unglazed or not. I would recommend contacting the manufacturer to ask them if they are food-safe. There are many manufacturers out there and if you can find one that is, you are all set with no worries.

I did some more research and found out some more info. I posted it in the forums, but wanted to make sure to post it here in case you still needed it, but it won't do the links properly. Here is the posting, if you need it:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6803640-.html#6803640

Hope this helps!