I am baking my first sheet cake today- any specific hints when using the Wilton 12 x 18 half sheet pan to make sure everything bakes evenly? Some say to put a flower nail in the center, others say don't....I'd just like to hear what your experience has been before I start. (It's half chocolate, half yellow if that makes a difference at all)

the first hurdle you're going to get when doing a 12x18 half and half is that most cake recipes (including box mixes) yield about 5 cups of batter and you'll need 3 batches to fill that pan (so you're dividing 3 batches into 2 flavors)

What some do is just put 2 yellow and then 1 chocolate....because chocolate cake has more volume (it requires more oil, and it bakes up higher resulting in the appearance of more cake)

Personally I make up 2 batches of yellow, pour all but maybe 2 cups of the yellow batter into the pan (I elevate 1 side of the pan but sticking something under it) and then leave those 2 cups of yellow and add all my ingredients for my chocolate (1 batch) this usually works out perfectly.
HTH

HTH...Do you use a flower nail in the center for even baking or does everything come out okay? What temp would you bake it at and for how long?

I do use a flower nail (sometimes 2 if I have them handy) and I bake at 325 for just about 1 hr.

KHalstead...do you use 3 "extended" recipes.. with the extra flour, sugar & sour cream in your 12x18....or 3 boxes without the extra ingredients. I never get the volume I want in my 12x18.

Sorry to sound so stupid HTH..but this is my first time doing this - just set the flower nail in the middle of the pan after the batter has been put in the pan and pull it out after cooling. If using two do you put them both in the middle side by side or spread them out somewhere in the pan?

if i use two nails, i spray my pan with " pam " or cake release,then put my nails in the middle of the pan about one inch apart,spray them a little with cake release and pour my batter in.

Caleyb...put them in pointy side UP..make sure you spray them real good with Pam. When flipping out of the pan...just make sure you put the point in one of your cooling grid squares before flippig. You will them be able to pull it right out. I only use one for my 12x18..in the center. Two wouldn't hurt.

Put a flower nail on each end of the cake, where it would be the halfway mark of each 1/2 of the pan. Bake it at 325 until done, all ovens don't heat the same way. Just check it to see if it is done after about 50 min.
evelyn

Khalstead, thanks for the tip on getting 2 flavors in the same pan. Tipping the pan, why didn't I think of that????

I make 1/2 recipe of yellow WASC and a 1/2 recipe of chocolate WASC....I put one flower nail in the center and use bake even strips around the pan. I hold both bowls of batter above the pan and start pouring in the middle to form a line where they meet. Then i can put one bowl down and fill one side and then fill the other side. The chocolate does bake up higher, but i put a cake board on top and press down. Usually i'll put enough icing on the opposite side to build it up, so it looks more even. As long as the cake cools about 10-15 minutes, it turns out of the pan just fine.

caleyb - Welcome to CC...just wanted to let you know that HTH stands for "Hope That Helps" and not a person's intials/signature

Sorry, back to the subject at hand

well, duh on my part -
Thanks for the heads up...I thought I was so smart. ha ha

I just made a 12x18 last night. I used a double batch of WASC and it filled it perfectly. I forgot to put my flower nails in, so I wrapped the outside of the pan with wet terry cloth strips. Worked great to keep it from rising in the middle too much.

I baked mine for about 40 minutes in a 325 oven.

Good luck!

I thought the flower nails were to make sure it bakes as evenly in the center as the outsides. I just looked at a recipe for chocolate WASC and someone said the flower nails were to make sure it doesn't rise too much. I do use the bake even strips. Do I need both?

You can use either flower nails or bake even strips or both. They're all designed to do the same thing. I usually use both a flower nail and strips on my round cakes. Extra insurance, I guess!

The cake I am doing is for a graduation party....haven't been to one of them in years! Would I do it two layer or one layer? Client didn't say which she wanted - just said a 12x18 sheet.

Terry Clothes/Bake Even Strips - Cool the outside of the pan so the edges don't cook as fast

Heating Core/Flower Nail - Draw more heat to the center of the pan so that the middle cooks as fast as the edges.

I baked my 12x18 sheet cake, 1/2 choc, 1/2 yellow....choocolate didn't bake as quickly as yellow - yellow done and center of chocolate was not done....I left it in a few extra minutes but didn't want yellow to overbake...toothpick still not clean on the chocolate side.....anyone else have this happen???