Can you guess what this is? Have you ever seen something like this crawl out of your oven? Before I do the big reveal, I need to tell you a little back story. You can mull over your guess while you're reading.
I have a thing for shaped pans. Sure I have your standard round and square pans, but what draws me in a like a sucker punch are the pans that have fun shapes. I must have spent a good 15 minutes in Williams-Sonoma once rooted to the spot, admiring a pan that was shaped like garden stuffs. You could make the cutest little Mr. MacGregor's garden cake with it - Peter Rabbit wouldn't have been able to resist!
I've also seen darling train cakes, snowman cakes, Christmas tree cakes, and even a giant Oreo cake. All of these pans make me sigh wistfully, but I try to let my common sense rule. I don't have the budget or the space to buy all these darling pans that are for one or two uses.
But if a friend brings one and says I may borrow it, that's a whole nother story!
My Baking Babe buddy, Tanna, was in town recently and brought along a pan she'd splurged on. Rather than let it sit and collect dust in her pantry, she's circulating it around, sharing the joy that a fun shaped cake brings.
The U.B.O. came about because I had no idea how much batter to put in the cake. I made my standard banana bundt cake from Baking. The batter came really close to the rim. A wiser person than I would have judiciously removed some batter and put it in a smaller baking vessel. Wise I am not. We watched in fascinated horror as the cake baked, rising and flowing like lava over the edge of the pan to plop and singe on the cook surface beneath the pan.
I had zero expectations of a great cake coming out of this fearsome mess. But it released well (thanks to lots of soft butter pushed into every crevice with my pastry brush), and out popped this fun octopus. Au natural it looked a bit bland, so I gave it a bath in a sugar glaze to bring out the details.
What do you think? I think he looks a bit cross. Didn't matter - he tasted great! And, of course, my kids were delighted that we were eating octopus for dinner.
What did you think it was?
16 comments:
I see an octopus :-D
haha .... enjoyed your story, stared at the "UBO" and decided that it is super sexy!
all i can see is an octopus as well!
Yep. Octopus! An angry one? (We can say that, anyway!)
I definitely never thought that top picture was octopus!
What a fun pan. You stumped me. LOVE banana bundt cake!
I had NO idea from that top picture! But it's so cute :)
Sues
Never would have guessed from the first photo. These baking molds look like such fun!
i love shaped pans too! never in a million years would i have guessed octopus, and really, whose idea was it to make an octopus-shaped pan? for what event would such a cake be appropriate? i guess it does accomplish one thing--this is the only way i'll eat my fair share of octopi and enjoy every bite. :)
I love the shaped pans they have these days..so much fun.
Having seen the pan itself I had a premonition that it might be that quirky octopus. Love how the glaze really brought out the details. Sweet instead of briny...thats an octopus I can enjoy!
Fun! I can see an octopus:)
Ohhh it looked like a spider in a way! I don't think I'd be able to eat it, because I hate spiders ha ha! Glad your kids liked it though:-)
From your first picture, I though "uh oh, deflated souffle?" but it was not!
I thought it was a shell cake. Love that it's an octopus though, such a fun pan shape. I recently saw a cake pan shaped like a gift box with a lovely big bow on top. I was so tempted to buy it!
Haha the first time I made a bundt I overfilled it as well and ended up with UFO shapes too. =) I love the octopus!! I've seen this pan before and wanted it. And the vegetable pan is too cute though I know I'd never use it. I just admire.
I knew what it was. :)
I love shaped pans but never know what I can make with them.
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