can i bake a cake in a copper bowl???

[cake girl]

Hello again i am back with yet anothr delima i am doing a cake in the shape of a ladybug and am wondering instead of having to carve it into shape if i could bake in a copper bowl and if i did would i need to ajust the temp and time your help ould be great thanks

[MarkV]

Pastry is not my specialty but I can tell you this:

copper is a highly reactive metal. That means any acidic ingredients in the cake batter, (butter milk, sour cream, cream of tartar, baking powder, cirtrus juice or rinds, etc.), can react with the copper. You could produce funky flavors and possible off colors.

As to the shape of the bowl I can't say for sure because I've never done it that way but, I have an intuitive sense that the curved shape may alter the uniformity of the cooking and/or the rising of the cake.

If one of the pastry chefs on here says it's OK to use a bowl, I would strongly recommend a stainless steel or annodized aluminum bowl.

Mark

[sucrechef]

MarkV is absolutely correct in that copper is too reactive a metal for anything with an acid of any kind (this includes baking powder and baking soda) Your flavors and even your colors may be off. If you must use a bowl, it should be a non-reactive like stainless. That being said, you will need to be very careful with your baking times and temps, the bottom may overcook before the top gets done because of the reduced bottom surface and increased top. There are some round, bowl shaped molds for baking (made of flexible rubber like substance) but they are very expensive and only used for individual sized cakes. Best bet is to just cut the cake like shown in the directions.

[cake girl]

Thank you guys for all the advice i think i will probably just go ahead with the carving deal but i am a little freaked out by the idea if you read my profile you would understand that i have had no formal training but i have apprenticed in a bakery for a wile not the case any more though and there are no directions for this idea just pure passion and drive so wish me luck one quick qustion if i could? do you think i should go with round pans graduated in size or should they all be the same size or should i just go with square witch would be easier to carve into the domed shape thanks

[panini]

CG
use the graduation round pans. Use your cut-aways to fill in or for rumballs.

[cake girl]

thank you panini for your advice and rock on with the rum ball idea