Swans Down Cake Pan
Many years ago my mother got this Swans Down tube cake pan as a free premium with the purchase of a bag of flour. She always used this pan when she made a particular sponge cake… so since that cake is my favorite and I have always had a special interest in this particular pan, she gave it to me after I got married. As you can see from the photographs, the pan has two side panels that cleverly slide up and down, and the words “Swans Down Cake Pan Pat. Dec. 18-23″ and 
“E. Katzinger Co. Chicago Licensed Mfrs.” are stamped on both side panels. Inside the pan on the bottom are the words “Swans Down Cake Flour Makes Better Cakes.” This pan came from the Katzinger Company, a company that made pans for bakeries in the early twentieth century and eventually became the Ekco Products Company we know today. The pan I have is 8 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches and it is in very good condition. The interior of the pan is bright and shiny and I still use this pan whenever I bake a sponge cake because the sliding side panels make it so easy to slip a knife inside to loosen the cake. When you slide the side panels up after the cake has baked and 
been taken out of the oven, it also helps the cake to cool more quickly than a conventional tube cake pan. I have always enjoyed having this pan and using it partly because it is old, but also because it is constructed in such a unique way. However, I did not realize that it also had a small monetary value. Recently I came across a similar pan at a kitchen collectibles auction. The pan for sale was like mine except that it was smaller and was a simpler version without the sliding side panels. It also had quite a bit of rust, so I was extremely surprised to see it sell for seventy-five dollars. I won’t be trying to sell mine any time soon, though!
Filed Under Simple Treasures
Comments
Comment by ellen b:
This is the first time I’ve seen anything like that cake pan. Would like to have a piece of the sponge cake you make in it! :)
Enjoy…
Comment by jodi:
What a beautiful cake pan. I’ve never seen one with side panels like that.
Comment by Susan:
What a very special item to have and especially that you still use it.
Susan - Penless Writer
Comment by Lana G!:
Love the cake pan! That is something you would see on the Antique Road Show and they would tell you its worth a mint!
Enjoy!
Comment by LadySnow:
I have never seen anything like that. Thank you for sharing. :)
Comment by Marci:
What a neat pan. I love older things, especially things you can use.
Comment by Rose mary:
What a great old cake pan. I’ve never seen one like it! Not many of us bake in a $75 pan!
Comment by Kelli:
What a special treasure! I’ll bet your mother’s sponge cake is delicious! Thank you for joining in for Show and Tell!
Kelli
Comment by Pam:
What a unique treasure to own. I love it! So the company became Ecko? Thanks for the history lesson!
Comment by Frieda Dotson:
Does anyone know anything about the measuring cup with the E Katzinger Co Chicago printed on the bottom of the cups?
Comment by Shirley:
I’ve seen a set of measuring cups that have “Mary Ann’s Accurate Measure by Katzinger Company Chicago” stamped on the bottom of them. They come in a 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, and 1/4 cup size, and they were made of a material that looks similar to the baking pan. The cups have a short handle (that looks almost like a pull-tab on a soft drink can) with a hole for hanging, and the cups themselves are smaller at the bottom than they are at the top. Because of this, they are taller than most of the measuring cups we use today. I don’t think there is a patent for these measuring cups.
Comment by Christine:
I have my mother’s set of measureing cups with Mary Ann’s Accurate Measure by Katzinger. I was thrilled to get them because that is only set of measureing cups she had & they were used a lot. Sadly, I am missing the 1/2 cup measure & am on the hunt to replace it. If you, or anyone, knows the history of these measuring cups and/or where you saw the set, I would really appreciate getting that information.
thank you
Comment by Shirley:
Christine, the Katzinger measuring cups I saw were at an antique mall several years ago. I only remember them because I noticed that they had the same name on the bottom as the name on my cake pan. If anyone has any information on these cups, I hope they will share it with us here.
Comment by Evelyn McCarthy:
I just found my Mom’s 1 cup measurure..the others are missing….I didn’t know until I cleaned the bottom with soft scrub..and came up with just the name of the company and Anna’s…the rest I found out from google…and the history. I would like to find out the approximate year that this product came out…I am sending it on to my daughter because she collects old bake ware.
thank you
Comment by Evelyn McCarthy:
I was very excited to read the many comments about the measuring cups. I have found my Mom’s and after cleaning it I discovered where it came from and the details were suppled by google..that’s how I found this web site.. I only have the one cup measure and am interested on how old it may be. I want to pass it to my daughter and would like to know that…the description fits that of Shirley’s.
thank you
Comment by Tim H. Royal:
I bought this Swans Down cake pan in Portland, Or. in 1993 and have used it for every cake since then. I was attracted to the obvious step up in technology for cake pans because of the sliding panels. I used it for a long time before I realized I could slide a knife in the bottom to help release the cake. I am rather slow witted sometimes. My attraction to vintage baking pans is because of the obvious care and love that went into the handling and keeping of baking pans, all the countless cakes and loaves made by caring hands. My kitchen in my home is a vintage 1920’s kitchen, hardly changed in 90 years, I love it. My pans look like they came with the house. Thank you. Tim.
Comment by Deborah:
I was searching for the possible of my own swans down pan and it is exactly like yours. And now I know what is worth I will hang onto it. Thanks for the info. Deborah
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