The Giant Cupcake

The Cupcake Pan below is made by Wilton, but I have seen similar ones at Williams-Sonoma. I had a chance to try it out last summer when my sister asked me to make a cake for my niece’s first birthday. It turned out to be a day-long process but completely worth it.

The pan itself made a great shape for the giant cupcake. The few bumps in the road were mainly due to the way the pan bakes. Because the two sides of the pan are different sizes, one side bakes more quickly than the other. After a few trials, we decided to just bake each side separately. It added a little extra time to the process, but it was the only way to make sure each side was baked perfectly.

I ventured into using colored fondant to cover the sides of the cake. Using fondant is always a feat in and of itself. I had only used it a few times before, so it took a while to learn how to handle it. I used buttercream icing to complete the top of the cake. It took five, yes FIVE batches of icing to cover everything. All in all, I was thrilled with the final product. Cupcake success!

Here are a few tips for using the giant cupcake pan:

• Read the directions! If you are using a cake mix, the pan uses more than one. The directions themselves suggest measuring the batter out in so many cups for each side of the pan.
  
• Be prepared! This is not the kind of bakeware you can use for the first time the day of the party, birthday, etc. Every oven bakes differently, and the odd shape of the pan only makes it more complicated.
• Be amazed with the result! With a little baking love, this cake pan is a true crowd pleaser.
  

~T