I am doing a 3 tier wedding cake... 14in, 10 in, and 6 in...
Should I use a heating core on the 14 and 10 ? I have never used one before..how do I use it
I wouldn't use a heating core, just an inverted flower nail. Just grease it like you do the rest of the pan, put it in the bottom of the pan in the middle and pour the batter in around it. For the 14" some may suggest using 2. I don't know. I've never baked one that big.
Ali
I usually put 2 flower nails in my big cakes. Sometimes I even use 3. They work really well.
Sherry
I must be a complete BEGGINER because for all of my big cakes (12 x 18, 11 x 15, etc.) I use like 4 nails. i usually space them out to help the cake cook all around just to be on the safe side. You could use as many as you like. I have NEVER used a heating core and don't think I ever will. Just use the nails. They are easier and you are not left with a huge hole in your cake. Hope this helps!
I must be a complete BEGGINER because for all of my big cakes (12 x 18, 11 x 15, etc.) I use like 4 nails. i usually space them out to help the cake cook all around just to be on the safe side. You could use as many as you like. I have NEVER used a heating core and don't think I ever will. Just use the nails. They are easier and you are not left with a huge hole in your cake. Hope this helps!
I also seem to go over board with nails. However it has worked for me. Personally anything over an 8" I put at least one in. I did an 11x15 this weekend and I used 3 in it. I may be going overboard but they turn out fairly level for me.
Leily
I've used both a heating core and a flower nail with good results. I would use one or the other on the 10" and 14" cakes for sure.
I have a wedding cake to do next weekend and was very concerned about using a heating core because it will be displayed on the tall tier stand. I never would have thought of using the flower nails as such. I think I'll give it a try! I can't stand the thought of having to core a cake that already has a big hole in it!
The flower nails work great. You will love them. Don't forget to spray them and put them in the pan before you pour the batter in.
Sherry
Now I know that I'm a beginner, how do you use the flower nail in the cake batter to keep the cake level? I've never heard of that before. I haven't used the heating core yet either. I have used the baking strips but they can be a pain . . . especially with odd shaped pans.
Thanks!
I recently baked a cake in a large ravioli can (see the house picture in my photos - it's the bottom half of the turret section). I put an extra long flower nail in the center of the can (on the bottom), then poured the cake batter over it. I baked it at 325 (lower than the recipe), for additional time.
I also used the nail technique on one of the houses. It definitely cooked more evenly than the other one, so the anectodal evidence at least suggests it works well. And since the nail head is on the bottom of your cake, it comes out easily and leaves just a tiny hole in your cake.
It came out perfect. Just be sure you grease/flour your nail(s) well before you pour the batter over them. I used homemade cake release and just painted it on.
Good luck!
Glad I found this. I knew there had been several discussions about flower nails as heating cores, but this really explained it clearly to me! Thanks all!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just love the results with the flower nails used a heating cores! I am working on a wedding cake for Saturday and yet another layer is in the oven as I'm writing this. I tried the 14" layer with 3 flower nails and I've never seen a prettier cake (...without icing!) Thanks for the great idea!!!!!!!!!!!
is the inverted flower nail to help it bake evenly (flat)?? Or is it just to get it to cook thouroughly??
Both for me. I use them ALL THE TIME ON 8" rounds or bigger. The cakes seem to be more level and I put more nails in the pan depending on the size. I like to make sure that my cakes are COMPLETELY done. I don't want to under-estimate my baking times. You should try it. It works great. If you decide to try it, let us know how it works for you.
Both for me. My cakes come out leveled and baked thouroughly. You can use as many as you feel you need. I ALWAYS use a lot of them. If you decide to use the,. let us know how your cakes turn out!
I was surprised by the results, it bakes much more evenly than without the nails . However, it did seem to have less of a "crown" to the tops than I usually acheive.
This is late but if you use the heater core sold by Wilton be sure and grease it well inside and out.
my cakes crowned even with the nails. Maybe I put too much batter in the pans but I tried not to go more than 1/2 full. I put two nails in my 14X3" pan. I think I should have put four nails in. It took what seemed like forever to cook in the center.
I have never used either. Can someone explain to me what type of flower nail and how to place it in the pan so that I can try this method. I love this site I learn so much. What type of flower nail, how many and how to place in pan.
Thanks
Any ideas if the nails would work for silicon or glass pans?
I'm guessing that the nails help by picking up heat from the pan onto the nail head, then moving the heat up the nail spike. Silicon doesn't conduct heat nearly as well as aluminum, so I'm curious.
If only I would have remembered this post before baking my cakes last night.... My square pans are glass/silicon, and they didn't cook too evenly. It would have been so easy to try it if on;y I remembered.
It should work for glass and silicon pans because the heat is actually conducted through the nail tip. The nail tip protrudes out of the batter, so it conducts the heat from your oven down into the batter to cook the center.
I wish I would have read the answers to this post before I used a heating core last weekend and made a complete mess of my final cake for my Wilton class. I was able to fix it but it did take some work.
I've got a question about heating cores. I love to bake in my Teddy Bear Stand up pan, but hate that big hole in the middle of the cake. Any suggestions on what I could use that would give the same
baking results without the huge hole???
I've got a question about heating cores. I love to bake in my Teddy Bear Stand up pan, but hate that big hole in the middle of the cake. Any suggestions on what I could use that would give the same
baking results without the huge hole???
Cindy6250 grease and flour the inside of the core. And then put batter in it. Treat it as if it were a cake itself. I do it all the time
I have done that, but the cake looks a little funky when you cut into it.....thought there might be come kind of wire or something that would work and make it less likely that the cake will fall apart when taken out of the pan.......That ain't fun at all!!
I used the 3d cake recipe on this site the last time and it held together much better...Can I use a homeade pound cake recipe and get good results? I think the time I used chocolate cake mix was the time I had the decapitated bear....hee hee
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