I have a favorite baking pan – one that I bought ages ago in a bakery supply house. I recently took a cake to a party in it and my brother-in-law asked, “Who brought the cake in the cool “old school” pan?. I didn’t realize that “old school” could be applied to bakeware but I guess I was wrong.

I do indeed love this pan – it never lets me down. It bakes evenly with no hot spots. It cleans up beautifully. And while it does have some age spots (discolorations really), it is not one bit rusty and the finish is not wearing off in spots like so many of my cookie sheets. It is thick without being heavy. It never lets me down. I do love it!

And when I recently had to pitch a nasty non-stick muffin pan because it had rusty spots all over it, I dug through my baking cabinet only to find a nice little aluminum muffin pan hiding in there. I think I picked this one up at an auction actually. I made muffins in it last week and that muffin pan performed just like “old school” cake pan. Even baking, easy to clean, looked like new after it dried. So that got me to thinking about the content of the baking pans I like to use.

I have never been a fan of non-stick pans but they are all over the place! It really is hard to buy a pan that is not non-stick. Not my favorite because I cook A LOT and I tend to wear that finish off in no time. And I really HATE the airbake pans. That’s an article all in itself! So, I have recently decided that I will buy no more of those pans or cookie sheets. My favorite metal of choice when it comes to baking is aluminum.

In baking a cake, go for aluminum. You won’t be sorry! You will be rewarded with a cake that bakes evenly throughout, is easy to clean, and lasts forever. Be sure to check out the aluminum Wilton wedding cake pans (which can be used for any cake by the way) I have featured in the right side of the blog!

One of your first steps in choosing a wedding cake to make involves choosing and testing out your wedding cake recipe.  Making a few cupcakes to try things out is a breeze!  And who doesn’t love to eat a cupcake sample?!

The wedding cupcake is one of the recent trends in wedding cakes.  Instead of a very formal (and expensive) wedding cake, brides are opting for budget friendly cupcakes instead.  Pictured below is a lovely tiered stand with iced cupcakes (picture complements of Martha Stewart).

Making wedding cupcakes has so many things going for it.  Cupcakes can easily allow you to offer your guests a variety of cake and icing flavors.  Transporting these babies is soooo much easier.  Is the decoration of a large cake scaring you off?  Cupcakes can be decorated with a simple icing topped with a few purchased decorations (a monogram would be very cute!).

And talk about budget friendly!  If you are using a private caterer for your wedding reception,keep in mind that they often charge to cut your cake.  Cupcakes do not need to be cut – yet another cost saver!  And if you REALLY want to get creative – your cupcakes could serve as your centerpieces.  Purchase a  cupcake stand for the center of each table and allow your cupcakes to take center stage at each table!

It may be easy to choose which cake pan shape you like but

what if you want to make a wedding cake recipe that does not specifically call for the pans you want to use?

Remember that baking time and temperature is determined, in large part, by the size and volume of your baking pans.  Making your recipe and your cake pan compatible is crucial to your success.

If you find a recipe you love but need to change the pan size, be sure to adjust your recipe.  That may mean making more batter, changing the baking temperature, or lengthening/shortening the baking time.   Don’t be alarmed though – iit just takes a bit of thought and planning. Trial and error is crucial so plan on making a test cake to see how it all turns out.

Here is a link to a great table of conversions for changing up your cake pan size:

Wedding Cake Pan conversion