Decorator Preferred Vs. Performance Pans
Decorating By puzzlegut Updated 21 Jun 2006 , 2:17pm by beachcakes
I'm in need of buying some round pans (I'll probably start out with 8" x 2" pans). I was wondering which type of pan is better for baking and decorating cakes: decorator perferred or performance pans? When I went to Michaels today, they only had the performance pans. I didn't buy any incase these pans weren't as good of quality as the other ones. Thanks.
I'm sorry, I can't tell the difference by the names of the pans..... I think one is a thicker gage of aluminum than the other. I have both the thin and thicker versions of pans and can't tell much of a difference btween them. I will caution you about using the dark pans versus the silver pans though. The dark pans are TERRIBLE!!! The cake tends to stick to them no matter what!
The main thin that I can sees that is different is that the Decorator Preferred pans have sharper edges on their square and sheet pans. The edges on the performance pans are more rounded. I don't know if that makes any difference with the rounds though. I wondered this very same thing when I was buying my pans, but since Micheal's only had the Decorator Preferred pans that is what I got.
Don't buy either. Buy the Magic Line round pans. When I started using Magic Line, all of a sudden my cakes started looking significantly better and were easier to ice. No more bulging sides or cakes that didn't line up. The Magic Line pans have crisp 90 degree angles and bake straight up. I use the crisco with flour spray on them and don't have any problems with cakes releasing cleanly from the pans.
If your local cake stores don't carry Magic Line pans, I would order from someone online. It will save you a lot of frustration and tears.
I only bake in the Magic Line. Anything that says Wilton signals a red flag to me. There was a post on Rose Levy Birenbaums blog about cake pans and thier inaccurate measures. She stated that Cooks Illustrated now endorses the Caphalon non stick commercial pans and second the Chicago Metallic non stick.
I agree - get magic line if can. They cost a little more but are worth it! I have one 8" wilton and one 8" magic line. When I bake two layers, the wilton layer always comes out much darker and crustier and the magic line is beautiful. The aluminium is much thicker in magic line. My plan is to slowly replace all my pans w/ magic line.
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