# Springform pan leaking?  help!



## Mr_Dove

<I'm going to go ahead and post this in general instead of baking since my wife it going to make her second attempt on this cake in just a few hours>

I bought my wife a few springform pans for christmas this year and she's just getting around to using them.

She's making a chocolate cake out of very expensive chocolate for a co-worker.

She started working on it last night but after pouring the mixture into the pan and placing it into the oven she started smelling something burning.  The batter was dropping out the bottom of the pan rather quickly.

She ended up having the scrap the whole batch (remember the expensive chocolate part).

What can be done to keep the pan from leaking during baking?  I wasn't home when it happened but I think it was a pretty severe leak.


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## thymeless

IIn the long term, they sound defective and should be returned. Hopefullly you have an understanding dealer for these sorts of things. 

Most spring form pans leak a bit. So you need a good crust to block it off long enough for the batter to set. You might try wrapping the base in layers of aluminum foil to increase the size of the pan for a tighter fit. Use some of the reynolds release foil for the last layer so the cake releases well.

This cake may be better suited to a silicone pan where it will release easily and not have to worry about leaks.

tymeless


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## Katie H

Is she securely putting the bottom and the ring together?  If it's a new pan, it shouldn't leak as much as you are describing.  Or at all.

As a stop-gap measure, she could place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom part of the pan and then place the ring so that the paper is sandwiched between the bottom of the pan and the channel the bottom is supposed to fit into in the ring.

To further reduce leaking or to prevent batter from spilling into and cooking onto the oven.  Put several layers of heavy-duty foil on the outside of the pan up about half-way up the side of it.

Other than these suggestions, I'd say return the pans to the store.  However, since it's been nearly a year since she received them, that may be a bit difficult.

Best of luck.


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## VeraBlue

Not questioning your wife's ability to work a springform pan...but....is it closed properly?

Is it defective in it's closing ability?

Finally, here's a solution.   Take a large sheet of foil, enough to cover the sides and bottom of the spring pan.  Lay it out on a counter and place the ring on top of it.  Bring the edges of the foil up through the ring, making high walls and a false bottom.  Then, place the original pan's bottom onto the foil.   Snap it into place and lock the pan.  Press the foil as firmly as you can against the sides of the pan.  You don't want to have crease marks in the finished product.  Grease and flour as usual, being careful not to tear the foil.  

Proceed as the recipe instructs.  

You cannot simply wrap the bottom of the pan on the outside.  It will still leak, only now it will leak out the bottom and over the foil.

Or, you could simply return them to the place of purchase and exchange them for some that lock more correctly.


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## VeraBlue

hehe, sounds like we all had the same ideas...


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## Mr_Dove

I'm not the baker in the family so I've never worked with springform pans but this one leaks ALOT with water.  I figure that water isn't the best test medium since it is so much thinner than batter but that's what I have to work with at the moment.

This is a 9" springform pan made by Wilton and sold at Michaels.


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## Katie H

Wilton is not a fly-by-night company and produces a fine product.  That being the case, do return the pans to Michael's for a refund or replacement.  Maybe it was just a bad pan.  Michael's is a nationwide store and also has a good reputation.  Get new pans.


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## thegrova

I would probably be returning the pans too if it is a major leak - we cannot be having a chocolate fire in the oven can we!  When I am baking something with a very thin batter and amexpecting a little leak, I usually sit the pan either in a larger one or above a tray to catch the drips.  But this would not help if the leak was so fast that the pan was empty at the end of the baking process!


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## Swann

Sounds to me like the batter is one that is *VERY THIN* and probably should not be in a spring form pan. Does the recipe call for one? If the cake batter is thick than it would not be a problem and it is the pan. I would do as suggested and use foil or parchment on the inside of the pan as others suggested.


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## Michael in FtW

1) Springform pans are _*not*_ leak-proof - even the really expensive ones that _claim_ to be leak-proof still leak some ... _America's Test Kicthen_ did a test on these and confirmed that.

2) Springform pans are not really designed for your average cake batter where you would normally use a regular solid cake pan. Unless the recipe _*specifically*_ calls for a springform pan - use the pan called for in the recipe (a cake pan is solid).

If the recipe calls for a springform pan _and_ if the bottom was seated in the ring properly and it leaked that bad - then you might have a bad pan. My pans that work great for cheesecake leak like a sieve if I just pour water into them.


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## Lynne78

*Springform pan leaks?*

I had the same problem with my Wilton springform pan. It was too loose that the ring can't even hold the base!  It's a new pan that I used for a couple of times so I thought it shouldn't be broken. 
I didn't want to use foil or anything to tighten it. I actually stood in front of it, staring at the ring for a long time...thinking there should be a way to tighten it.
Then finally I figured it out. 
And it works!
You just have to adjust the thing that holds the lock, u can use pliers, or hands if u have the strength. 
Push that thing that holds the lock, towards the opposite side where it locks. 
You won't use anymore foil or parchment paper.
It worked on mine so it sure works on yours too!


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