4 Inch Cake Baking Heating Core - Heating Core Rod for Baking - Evenly Baked Cakes - Stainless Steel - Dish Washer Safe - Set of 4

A quick intro: I don't own a commercial kitchen, I am a home baker who takes what I do very seriously. While it is mostly a hobby and baking and cooking are done for fun, results matter. If results matter to you, or if you just want to make things a little easier on yourself, these are well worth the investment. Why buy? First, they are very well constructed. I looked at other similar products and based solely on the images available decided the MiaBakery product was superior. Some of the other brands have bases that look very thin or warped (and I understand this can be from the image or angle the image was taken from), but I also noticed the connection of the post to the base looked flimsy. These are far from flimsy. The pins are solidly attached to the base and the materials used are top quality. Second, they work. My first test was in an eight inch square pan. I created a square about half way into the pan, added my batter and popped everything in the oven. I was able to take about five minutes off the cooking time AND my cake came out with much less rise in the middle, in other words it was far, far closer to flat. This is important to me. A few notes: When you use this product for the first time, watch your cake closely. Check it with a bamboo skewer (essentially just use a really long tooth pick) and bring it out when the tester says to (clean or with a few light crumbs stuck to it), if you go longer I am betting you will dry your cake out. I went ahead and greased the pins and bases just like I did with the pan. When you take the cake out of the pan, place your cooling rack over the pan and allow the pins to come through the spaces, then tip pan and cake over and gently pull the pins. It has been suggested to me when you are using larger pans to place one of the cores dead center in the pan, then place the others around it, equidistant from the center and uniformly from the edges. This might be prove a little challenging with a square pan, but it can be done. Conclusion: This is a great product. It delivers on its promise and based on the construction, the only way they won't last you a lifetime is if you lose them. I wholeheartedly recommend this product and am seriously considering the purchase of a second set so I can more easily rotate pans in and out of the oven.

I looked at these and thought, "Cake nails? CAKE NAILS??" and the reviews were pretty persuasive. I'm glad I got these. I make a lot of batter quick breads, in additional to yeasted breads every few days, and I wonder how I got along without them! I stagger 3 or 4 in the bottom of the loaf pan (I use the long Pullman-type) for my quick breads, and the texture is consistent and uniformly baked throughout. Something I hate with an unholy passion: breads with thick crusts and overdone bottoms. Even with parchment paper, my loaves turned out uneven and infuriating. Who likes to see all their hard work turn out bad? My husband will eat even the bad loaves, since everything I do in the kitchen is magic to him, but I knew I could do better. Now the sides and bottoms are tender, with minimal crusts, and perfectly done. (When he unloads the dishwasher, I've noticed him looking at the nails and putting them where I can't find them, but that's de rigeur with him. When I send him into the kitchen to find a spice, which I have placed right up front at eye level, he can't help but laugh.) My husband is still eating my loaves, but I've noticed he's devouring my bread much faster. WOW! It's nice to know the magic is still enduring after 34 years of bliss ; ) ****NOTE**** I use these with a very heavy aluminum pan, narrow with very tall sides, when I want a more compact loaf. Otherwise, the Wilton baking pan I reviewed earlier I use for breads works fine too. I have smaller Pyrex loaf pans I use for baked gifts, also. Generally, I like the versatility of having a variety of loaf pans.

Muy buenos

These seem to work quite well most of the time. I find that I need to use three or even four of them for many cakes -- even smallish ones. A bain marie really helps a lot too. The combination results in a cake that is perfectly even across the top -- exactly what I'm looking for. To make these easier to remove I would recommend lining your baking pan with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Once the cake has finished baking and has completely cooled, place a sheet of parchment paper over the top and punch holes for the pins. (Necessary since these pins will probably be significantly taller than your cake.) Invert a cooling rack over the top of the pan and flip the whole thing over. Place the edges of the rack on two raised surfaces, so that it's suspended in the middle. (I use two inverted bowls.) Now you can remove the pan, carefully peel the parchment or aluminum away, and give the pins a gentle twist and push from the bottom to remove them before finally putting your cake back upright again. Not the simplest process but in the quest for perfection every little bit counts. I do recommend these for those who want to avoid domed or sunk cakes at all costs.

These are nice but difficult to remove from the cake. They are taller than my pans, so turning the cake out on the cooling rack is not so simple. So far what I have done is to place my cooling rack over the cake so that the nails stick through the cooling rack, then turn the entire thing over on top of another cake pan or pot so that the nails have somewhere to go. I can then remove my parchment paper from the bottom and then remove the nails from the cake. seems to be a few more steps than I was use to with my other heating "V" core that I used, but these are good for taller takes. They will just take some getting use to.

These cake heating cores saved me. I ordered these because I was have trouble when baking a very dense cake. The outside would burn waiting for the middle to bake (I have a terrible oven, by the way) even at lower temperature. I used these and my cakes baked much more evenly!! I sprayed them with cooking oil, flat side down, on top of the parchment paper. The cores pulled out easily and washed easily and did not rust. Great product MiaBakery!!