Believe you me, that pan does not come cheap! You cannot get it for the $10.99 that you paid in stores, so if you can find it in a store, snap it up. My son wanted a Thomas cake for his birthday, I ended up paying $30 plus shipping, and I started searching in June for his November birthday. They will have it on e-bay, but be prepared to pay.
Believe you me, that pan does not come cheap! You cannot get it for the $10.99 that you paid in stores, so if you can find it in a store, snap it up. My son wanted a Thomas cake for his birthday, I ended up paying $30 plus shipping, and I started searching in June for his November birthday. They will have it on e-bay, but be prepared to pay.
Thanks, JulieB, I have found out about the pan not being cheap. maam1993[/quote]
I have found several discontinued pans at the local party warehouse stores. I have one that the manager will call when they are about to discontinue a pan to see if I want one. I also suggest getting into a good business relationship with them so that they go the extra mile for you. All it cost me was a cake for his 2 kids.
How different is the Thomas the Train cake pan from the 3D Choo Choo Train pan? I just got one from Wilton because my local store didn't have it and it looks like it would do the job. In fact that is why I bought that pan not knowing that there was a specific Thomas the Train cake pan. Please advise. Thanks!
The Thomas pan is actually a picture of Thomas, it's a character cake, with all the little details that make it "Thomas" rather than a little blue train. If you're like me, you need the pan...... 
I don't have the talent to take a cake and mold a pan out of think air, I don't think I could do that face and make it believable. If you're like so many on this site, heck, stack a couple of cakes and start cutting! 
Here's a link to a listing of the pan on e-bay, just so you can see what it looks like.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Wilton-Thomas-Tank-Engine-Cake-Pan_W0QQitemZ4471302697QQihZ001QQcategoryZ116002QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Oh wow, Julie, I thought it was a stand up pan like the cake that SLK made. Did you go into her gallery and see her Thomas train. What an awesome cake. SLK, what pan did you use? Please let us know. Thanks!
Thanks Samsgranny.
The best way I found to make this cake is to use 2 - 9 x 13 cakes and 2 soup cans. Then cut the sheet cakes to size.
I didn't make that one that way, I underestimated how much cake I neeed and ended up cutting an 8" round to fill in pieces - but it didn't work that well. So next time I will have lots of square cake baked and ready to go.
Oh wow, Julie, I thought it was a stand up pan like the cake that SLK made. Did you go into her gallery and see her Thomas train. What an awesome cake. SLK, what pan did you use? Please let us know. Thanks!
Did I tell you how smart and bright and computer savvy I am NOT? I haven't figured out how to go to someone else's gallery yet.
If you don't know how I can tell you. See the note from SLK above yours? See the little button at the bottom of her note that says "photos"? Just click on that and it will take you to her profile and there is another button that says, "View all SLK's photos". Just click on that and it will show you all of the cakes that she has submitted. You can see anyone's cakes that way as long as they have downloaded photos. Hope this helps, I know I struggled with this as well when I first came on board but the hardest thing so far was downloading an Avatar (that's the picture of my mini cake next to my name). Still don't have the hang of it and lucky for me Lisa came to my rescue! This site is so great and everyone has been so gracious to me and all my newbie questions.
Oh, cool, thank you, Samsgranny! Your cake, btw, is awesome.
SLK, I did check out your Thomas, and all I can say is "Wow!". Phenomenal. You make some seriously awesome cakes. By the way, what part of St. Louis are you from? I am originally from South St. Louis, the Bevo area (years and years ago, it's a much different area now. Back in the day, it was a lot of immigrants.....).
JulieB - thanks for all your comments on my cakes. I just logged on and had all these awsome e-mails waiting for me. That always makes a girl feel pretty good.
I'm in an unincorporated area of St. Charles County. It's just easier to say St. Louis. Were you in South City or South County?
SLK, I am from South City. Like I say, back in the day, when I was growing up, it was a lot of immigrants, and my grandfather came there from Cuba. Now, depending on where you are, it's not a great area....... LOL. I know people who are afraid to go into that area. Not me, I got family there! LOL
I don't really know much about the city - don't really have a lot of reason to go there. As I understand it though, there is a lot of revitalization in that area. I would't be scared to go there - I'd just need a reason to go. Nashville's not that far away - do you visit the family often?
Thanks Samsgranny.
The best way I found to make this cake is to use 2 - 9 x 13 cakes and 2 soup cans. Then cut the sheet cakes to size.
I didn't make that one that way, I underestimated how much cake I neeed and ended up cutting an 8" round to fill in pieces - but it didn't work that well. So next time I will have lots of square cake baked and ready to go.
[quote=ma'am1993] SLK on what temperature do you bake the cake in the 2 sup cans?[/quote]
mamma1993 - I mostly use the enhansed cake formula which bakes at 330 degrees. If it's a small soup can - it takes about the same time as a 8" cake, the bigger cans take a little longer.
I have also baked with convection then I only lower the temp to 320 (not the full 25 degerees you should usually drop the temp to since it is at such a low temp already.)
I use a long cake tester to test for doneness. Also, I always line the bottom with parchment. I did not do it one time and it stuck.
One last tip. If the inside of the can has a white or slick gray lining - do not use it - the flavor of the food that was in the can absorbs into that lining and will throw off the flavor of your cake. Only use non coated cans.
I'm so glad someone asked the question about baking in the soup cans, I was going to ask the same question. The more I think about it, the more I think I could use a cake the size of a soup can......... I think some experimentation is in order..... Too much fun, I think.........
I do visit St. Louis quite a bit. There's some good camping in the rural areas of MO, and I like to visit the city, it's such a different flavor of town than so many other cities........ plus, my kids love the Museum of Transportation, and so do I.
My grandma taught me the baking in a can trick. She used to (and still does) bake banna bread and other breads in coffee cans.
When I was trying to figure out how to get the round part of my thomas cake - and knowing I couldn't carve it anywhere near round, I remembered my grandma's trick - then asked her how to do it the next day at lunch.
My first experiment went badly. I used a can of spicy rotel - only because it was the right sized can. I washed it in the sink - baked the cake - then tasted the cake....and it was so spicy it burned my mouth. Of course, I called grandma crying about my spicy cake and she laughed and said...."well silly, is it a coated can?"
Now I usually use a can that was filled with a mild flavored broth - then wash it in the dish washer 2 or 3 times first.
So after trial and error - and a little help from grandma - I bake in cans all the time. I will actually go down the canned food isle to look for different sized cans.
mamma1993 - I mostly use the enhansed cake formula which bakes at 330 degrees. If it's a small soup can - it takes about the same time as a 8" cake, the bigger cans take a little longer.
I have also baked with convection then I only lower the temp to 320 (not the full 25 degerees you should usually drop the temp to since it is at such a low temp already.)
I use a long cake tester to test for doneness. Also, I always line the bottom with parchment. I did not do it one time and it stuck.
One last tip. If the inside of the can has a white or slick gray lining - do not use it - the flavor of the food that was in the can absorbs into that lining and will throw off the flavor of your cake. Only use non coated cans.
[quote=ma'am1993] SLK-thanks for being so helpful. I am new to cake decorating. What is "enhanced cake formula"?
I got the recipe from this site. Basically, it turns a boxed cake into a "from scratch" flavored cake. It extends your mix (makes more batter). I use it because it makes dence, moist cakes that hold up well to carving/shaping and being covered with fondant.
Someone else may be able to add the link for this recipe (cause I don't know how) - but you can find it by typing enhanced formula in the search menu above. Basically it's adding 1 c sugar, 1 c flower, 1 c sour cream, 1/4 c heavy cream, 1 c melted butter, 3 eggs, ...and some other stuff I can't remember right now..to your cake mix.
I have used it to make chocolate, white, french vanilla and carrott cake - I just adjust sugar - flavorings, etc. for whatever cake I am making.
Some adjustments I have used - I made a boxed carrott cake and cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup, added a fourth egg, and then added 2 cups of grated carrots - I was told that was the best carrot cake they had ever eaten...(I even thought it tasted great).
I also started with a white cake mix, added a can of cream of coconut, 2 tsp of rum extract, 2 cups of coconut - and made a coconut rum cake. Yummy
With this "formula mix" - anything goes.
Welcome to baking/decorating. I can't wait to see some of your work. I am still fairly new to the game as well - I decorated my first "real" cake last November and have been hooked ever since. I would have NEVER tried half of what I have it it had not of been for the support I get from CC.
Good luck....Stacey
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%