Hi fellow bakers, has anyone tried using the Wilton 3D Cruiser Car Pan to bake? I had 3 attempts but all ended up in failure, wonder what went wrong!

1st attempt: I used chocolate mud cake recipe for a 7" round cake and baked in a water bath (hoping to keep the cake moist) at 150 degrees celcius in a fan forced oven. Took few hours to cook but the sides are all burnt and hardened while the centre is still raw. Also the cake only risen to a bit more than half of the car.

2nd attempt: I used 2 packets of supermarket cake mix - The White Wings brand Rich Chocolate Cake. Half an hour into baking the pan tipped over.

3rd attempt: I used about 1.75 packets of supermarket cake mix - The White Wings brand Rich Chocolate Cake. This time I put the 3D car pan inside a bigger pan, then I rolled up balls with aluminium foil to sit around the 3D car pan to stabilise it. I also insert #18 metal wire into the cake batter to act as a heating core. I baked at 140 degrees celcius in a fan forced oven for 100 minutes. The cake did not rise to the top, only cooked to half way up the wheels, and even the whole cake is cooked through the sides are still a little bit burnt.

So my question is:

- How much batter should I have to make sure it rise right up to have the shape of the whole car? Anyone have a good recipe to use for this pan?

- Do I need a proper heating core so the cake would cook through without the sides being burnt?

- What other ways are there to stabilise the pan so it won’t tip over while baking?

- Anything else I have done wrong in my three attempts above? Any other tips?

Many thanks!!!

http://www.wilton.com/downloads/paninstructions/2105-20433-DCruiser.pdf

Those are the instructions from the Wilton site.  It mentions 6.5 cups of batter, at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes.  It does not mention a heating core, so I would recommend wrapping the pan with a damp towel.  That would help with even baking, and also stabilize the pan at the same time.

Good luck!