Connor is 3!I have never bought a form cake pan. I check them out from the library. You may think this is gross, but just wash it really well before using.
A few tips before I start. 1) Set aside a time frame to decorate the cake. Time where you won't get interrupted by children is good. 2) Make sure the butter for the frosting is at room temperature. 3) If you're going to commit to doing cakes, invest in Wilton decorating tips and disposable Wilton frosting bags. 4) Greasing the pan is key! Use Crisco and then flour with Wondra Flour (it's ultra fine and gets in all the cracks).
So I start by washing the pan in hot soapy water. Then I grease the pan with Crisco. I do this by using a paper towel. Get some Crisco on the paper towel and coat the pan. Take care to get it in the creases of the pan. You will want to see every nook and cranny when decorating. Then pour some Wondra Flour and tap the sides of the pan to cover the entire pan. If you see a big space that isn't covered with flour, touch it up with Crisco and sprinkle with flour.
Next, mix the cake according to directions and bake. Cook on the rack for 10 minutes and then turn onto a cake board. I buy Wilton cake boards at Walmart or Hobby Lobby. Let cool completely.
There are many choices when it comes to frosting. You can buy tubs of white Wilton frosting in stores. You can also buy colored tubes of Wilton frosting or Wilton food coloring. Personally, I like to make my own butter cream frosting. There is a recipe for the Wilton butter cream on the pan instructions, but it uses Crisco and I don't like the consistency. For the Lightening McQueen cake I bought the tubes of Wilton frosting in red because it's hard to mix real red frosting (it usually turns out dark pink) and I couldn't find the red Wilton icing color. I used my own butter cream for the rest of the colors. Recipe as follows:
Butter Cream Frosting
What you will need: 2 sticks unsalted sweet cream butter, 6 cups powdered sugar, vanilla to taste, milk
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| Excellent way to scoop out sugar without spilling. |
Once again, make sure you're butter is at room temperature. Set it out the night before or first thing in the morning. Place butter in mixer and beat for a couple seconds. Add one cup of powdered sugar and turn mixer on low. Keep adding sugar. Once the mixture gets dry add a little milk, a tablespoon at a time. Add as little or vanilla as you want. Once you've added all the sugar (I use 5-6 cups) and you've got a good consistency, beat the frosting for about five minutes.
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| Whipped butter cream |
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| The 'naked' cake |
The cake is cool, the frosting is ready. Time to decorate. This is the fun part, don't get stressed out. I'm going to walk you through this with lots of pictures. First rule, there is a guide that comes with your Wilton pan. It shows you what to frost and in what order. Follow the steps and you'll be fine. My fist step with this cake was to frost the sides, headlights, smile and windows. I like to do a 'crumb coat' of white on the sides and then use a star tip to finish them later. From the picture at the left you can see I wasn't too great at staying in the lines, but that doesn't matter because you're going to outline everything in black and then fill in with the remainder with a star tip. At the right, I've filled in the back windows, the inside of the tires and the exhaust pipe. The red frosting came from a Wilton tube and I dyed the blue by using regular food coloring. Next, I outlined all the parts of the car with black. The black frosting I dyed with Wilton Icing Colors. You can buy these at Walmart or any craft store that carries Wilton supplies. Get your bag and tip ready for the frosting. I buy the disposable bags and the box explains how to put the tip on. The next picture shows how you get the frosting in the bag. Hold the tip and fold the bag over your hand. Use your other hand to make the opening bigger so you can scoop frosting inside. Then push the frosting down towards the tip. Twist the top of the bag (the part that contains no frosting) tight so frosting can't find it's way up and out of the bag. 
This picture shows how I outlined the entire cake and the separate sections which I will then fill with the appropriate color using the star tip. Fill in the rest of the cake with the recommended start tip. I use a bigger start tip to do the sides of the cake. The finished product is seen in the picture at the beginning of this post with the birthday boy. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm always happy to offer advice or help.
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| Outlined the entire cake |
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| I dont' know why this photo won't rotate, but here is the cake with most parts filled in |
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| Finished product |
You're still talented, seriously! I have used a mold before and failed :)
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