The seasonal Harvest Bites Cakelette Pan from Nordic Ware is a fun pan for fall entertaining. The heavy duty, nonstick pan bakes up two dozen miniature cakes in classic autumn shapes at one time. The shapes include pumpkins, walnuts, pinecones, and acorns. Each cakelet is about the size of a mini muffin cavity, so the baking time and the amount of batter that you’ll need to create them is about the same. They’re cute enough to stand on their own, but the small shapes can also be sandwiched together with a filling or frosting to create 3D cakes that are even cuter.
If you sandwich the mini cakes together, the resulting 3D cakes will look surprisingly realistic. The sizes of the cakes are just about right to make convincing stand-ins for acorns, walnuts and small pumpkins. A spice or gingerbread cake batter will give your harvest shapes a convincing color, too. There is a lot of detail in the designs, but the nonstick finish on the pan helps them to come out cleanly and preserve the tiny lines and leaves. Still, you’ll want to grease and flour this pan before using just to be on the safe side.
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