What are they for? Why do they have to be used?

Thanks
Mixee

Heating cores are needed to transmit heat to the middle of large cakes while baking so they bake evenly. This is usually used on cakes over 10 inches. I just use a greased flower nail turned upside down in the middle of the pan. On especially large cakes, I use 2 or more nails. You can buy heating cores at cake supply stores but the flower nail method is easier and doesn't leave a hole in your cake. Hope this helps

They are used to conduct heat evenly while your cake is baking. I don't use anything but the flower nails as a heating core. The big heating core leave a big hole in your cake. Not pretty! So take it from me they aren't a useful tool in the kitchen. Just use a flower nail with the point side facing up. You cover it w/ your oil/flour mix or use non stick spray. I only use it when I have a 10" cake or larger. No need to use a heating core for under 10" cakes. Some people don't use one at all & their cakes turn out fine. Hope I could help.

ha ha Luceymoose... we posted at the same time!!

TC Great minds think alike!!!

Tina and Luceymoose, do you not fill your heating core with cake batter to plug the hole? I use a flower nail too (I have the big one for larger cakes) but a core came with my stand up bear pan and it worked neat to plug the hole with the bit of cake baked in the core. Be sure and coat the core if you use one, inside and out. Trust me. Ü Tina, try using your flower nail for your smaller cakes to get more even heat conduction while you get used to your new oven.

STUPID QUESTION: What happens if you don't use your heating core (or flower nail)? Does it just not cook in the middle?

It will cook eventually but then the sides may be overdone and the center may sink.

Wow!!! I just had every question I ever had about the heating core answered here!!! I was wondering about the hole and why I saw a picture of it being used and there was cake batter in the core. DUH!!!!!!! Use it to plug the hole Amy!!! You girls are wonderful! I think I will try the flower nail method.


Amy

Well thank you all for your answers to my questions...I just recently bought a 10 & 14" diameter 3" deep pan set and it said on it that it required the heating core...I know I have read snippets here and there about it, but never paid any attention...at least I know now why I am supposed to use it ...Thanks!

Mixee

Heating cores cost around $6 and my big flower nail cost about $1.39, if that has any bearing on your decision of which to buy. If I didn't have this 3D pan I wouldn't have a core. Using the nail is one of the best pieces of advice I've gotten on here. Ü

I know I love using metal flower nails as well! I went to Walmart- they are only 84 cents (USD)- and bought 3 more to add to my collection. That way I always should hopefully have enough to use more than one at a time.

i made a 12 inch cake without a heating core and it turned out great... someone on the site told me to bake it at 325 and it worked wonderfully. i went to our kitchen store here in town which is the "largest kitchen store in the nation" and asked if they had a heating core and they told me that they never even heard of such a thing... i knew they existed because i saw them online and saw people talking about them on here but the people at the store just laughed at me... i don't know if making a 14 inch would turn out as great without a heating core though, but for a 12 or 10 inch it's fine without one

Thanks for all the info. Should I use a flower nail on a 12X18 half sheet cake? Or is it just for the round cake?

Thanks,
Cecilia

curiegas - You can use the nail for any pan. For a cake that big, you may want to use two set at diagonals. Hope this helps

so, you place the flower nail on the bottom of the pan, then you pour the batter over it?

yep, just make sure you grease and flour the nail

I just used the flower nails in the 1/2 sheet I made. I actually forgot to set the nail in first before putting in the batter but I just stuck them in when I realized it and they still came out very nicely after the cake was baked

I haven't used flower nails on my sheet cakes. I never think of it. They usually come out nice. I will think of it next time though. I'd like to see that difference.

Carol, this is one of the best things I've learned on here too!!!

My quarter sheets have done all right without a core or a nail, but that half sheet definitely needs some help from one or the other, also think most of the character cakes would do better with a nail in it.

This tip on using the flower nail or a core gets an a+. Janice

okay, so i tried the nail trick with my 10" rounds yesterday and had a bit of a problem and wanted to pass it along. the cake baked up beautifully, perfect color, done in the middle ... the first one i filpped out onto my cutting board and the nail went sideways and i ended up with a hole in the middle of the cake. the second one i turned out onto a cake board so the nail would poke through (which it did) but when i turned it upside down the pan shifted and the nail went sideways again, no biggie though, i just filled it w/icing since it was for me. i just thought i'd share my misfortune in the hopes of sparing someone else. happy baking!!

I would recommend flip your cakes onto a cooling rack.. this way the tip of the nail has a place to go through, then your cake will slide down the nail first before the nail goes anywhere. Then when you place the cake and the rack down at once, the nail should pop straight up. Or at least that is what has worked for me.
m0use

thanks mouse i'll definately try it that way next time!!! i guess i just didn't think that part of it all the way through or i would've done it that way to begin with oh well, live and learn right?

Trial and error is sometimes the only way to learn, especially when it comes to cakes.

how true, thank goodness this was a minor one that was easily repaired ... no one even noticed!