A really sweet ride

Cupcakes are great, but sometimes you want to go a step beyond. The Sweet Rides Classic Car Pan, from Nordic Ware, lets you turn your cupcakes into truly sweet rides. The pan shapes each cupcake into a different car--they aren't made in any particular models, but you'll be able to pick out a truck and even a convertible. While the pan does add quite a few details to your cupcakes, there aren't so many that it's hard to remove the cupcakes after you're done baking. You can also get away without completely icing these treats: a full coat of icing would hide the details but a few well-placed lines of frosting will just emphasize them.

The Sweet Rides Classic Car Pan is 10 inches by 16 inches by 2 inches. It only turns out 8 cupcakes in each batch (compared to a more typical 12), but those cupcakes are a little larger than average and will require a full batch of cupcake batter. It's made from cast aluminum, with a nonstick coating. The coating does mean that the pan is hand wash only, preferably with mild detergent, but it does clean up very easily. The Sweet Rides Classic Car Pan is $27.23.