Okay, I have to see if anyone else has had trouble with this pan. I was using the Wilton Soccer pan to make a ladybug body the other night. I have used this same pan in past for my baseball caps.

I am struggling with getting it done, or it falling while baking. It has no heat core like other deep pans. The wonder bowl pan has given me the same trouble a time or 2.

The other night I baked this cake twice with the same results...both with DH Strawberry Supreme w/ Cake Mix Extender. The first one took forever to get done, and then appeared to be pretty moist...to the point it looked wet. The thing is, I baked some of the same batter in a larger custard cup beside it, and it was just fine. So I baked again...this time it fell in the center. ErRRRRR!!!! So I got up yesterday morning, and baked it again...this time with no extender in it...just straight DH box, for the exact time the instructions said, etc, and it still looked funny...better than that others, but not 100% right. Went with it, no call from the customer...hope that it was okay, but this is getting really aggravating.

Has anyone else had this problem...any suggestions?
Sorry for the long one.
Carrie

I made mine using WASC cake, and yeah, it took a while to cook thouroughly. I hadn't used the core either. The top looked OK, but the inside was uncooked. It took over an hour to cook- boy was i nervous. I lowered the temp too, because it looked like it was getting too brown. But in the end the client was happy so thank goodness.

We are actually considering drilling a hole in the bottom of it, and using the heating core from the Wonder Bowl with it...worth a try. They wanted Strawberry cake, so the WASC I don't think would have worked...I don't knwo...guess it coudl be my oven. However, I baked 17 layers the other night with no problems there. Go figure!

I used the Wilton Sports Ball pan for the very first time last week and I noticed the same problem (the outside was looking done, but the center was much less cooked and when I inserted a toothpick, the inside wasn't cooked at all). I then lowered the oven to 300 degrees (F) and cooked it for almost twice as long as the directions stated. I, too, was nervous, but it came out okay. It was a white cake (DH to which I had added a package of white chocolate pudding to the batter). I got rave reviews from my neighbor the day after she picked it up and I had tasted the scraps from having leveled it so I knew it tasted good myself.

If I use that pan again in the future I'll just begin baking it at 300 and probably use a heating core, too.

Sometimes the top gets too crusty for me, so I cut it off. I REALLY like using the Pecan Caramel recipe from here in it. It always works. I am about to try using the heating core in it, though.

As far as the strawberry cake goes, in the WASC you can sub-out 1/2 the water for strawberry margarita mix. Someone else says that you can take frozen strawberries, put some water in with them in a pot and cook until thawed, put them in a blender and puree, and sub out all of the water.

HTH

I've used the ball pan set several times before, and I've never had a problem. I use a slightly doctored box mix and flower nails for heating cores. I just watch them like a hawk durring the last 10 minutes of baking, however.

I've used this pan several times as well with success. I needs a good firm cake so I add a box of pudding and an extra egg for a Duncan Hines mix. I also put an upside down flower nail in the pan for a heating core. Bake at 325 (convection)

When you use a flower nail in it...isn't that short? Does that matter that it would be below the batter? Still work? Curious.

The flower nail is short but it still works OK. I've used this pan a lot and you do have to bake much longer with it.

As far as the soccer ball pan, I had my Dad drill a small hole in the bottom center and use the core from the wonder mold pan. Works like a charm! I do only bake at 325 in that pan, but it is beautiful compared to what it was before. As for the sports ball pan(s), I use the upside down flower nail in both and wrap my bake even strips around the top edge of the pans. Now I barely have to trim them and they are perfectly done in the middle. Before the flower nail/baking strips I had the huge hump in the middle and burnt edges. HTH

allee...thanks for the info....that is what I was considering doing myself...glad to know it works! I typically do 325 on all of my cakes as well; however, when I put an oven thermometer in my oven last night it was reading 375 when it was clearly set for 350...turned down to 325, and it read 350...errr....not sure if something like that can be fixed or not by an appliance person.
Going to check my main kitchen oven tonight...curious to see what it does. If that is the case, and it can't be fixed, guess I will have to turn everything down by 25 degrees.

Yea, works pretty well, trust me, I have burned many cakes around the edges only to have them not done in the middle! Honestly, I use those bake even strips on almost everything now. Works great on the wonder mold too!
Allee

Wow, all these tips are great. I have used the soccer ball pan and the sports ball pan, and had a little trouble with both. Thanks for all the great tips I will definitly have to use them next time!