You can now borrow novelty cake pans from Lititz Public Library thanks to this Girl Scout (2024)

Growing up, birthdays were extra sweet for Maggie Turner. That was thanks to the special, lovingly decorated birthday cakes her mom made for her. Her favorite might be a pony-shaped cake with carefully placed gray tufts of icing, made for her seventh birthday.

“It made me feel so special and loved,” says Turner, 18. “As I got a little older, I enjoyed helping to decorate my cakes. It was a tradition started by my grandma, who often used these pans for my mom’s childhood birthday cakes.”

Now, the 2024 Warwick High School graduate has found a way to help others make special occasions more memorable.

Turner, a Girl Scout, earned a Gold Award — the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve — for her project providing specialty cake pans to Lititz Public Library, for patrons to check out.

The pans are from Wilton – the same brand that made the pony pan Turner’s mom used for that special birthday cake.

“I thought it would be a fun idea and wanted to show that libraries are not just about books,” says Turner, a lifelong Brickerville resident. “Libraries seem to be under fire these days, so I wanted to do something to help both the community and the library at the same time.”

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The cake pans are now available at the library and can be checked out for use, then returned for the next baker. They come in a plastic bag with complete instructions.

Tips and tricks

To complete the project, Turner set out to find Wilton pans from various sources. Some were her own or her mother’s. Some were purchased from local thrift stores. Some were donated by local baker Courtney Richie, and some came from a Facebook post looking for pans.

“Some are definitely older than me, since they came from my grandma,” Turner says.

There are 20 different pans available, from cats and dogs to a Care Bear and Pikachu.

“Several of them do have fond memories for me,” Turner says. “The Playful Puppy pan was used by my grandma to make a cake for my mom when she was little. We used the Jersey pan for Penn State tailgating. I’ve had Elmo, Kitty Cat and Pony cakes for my birthdays,” Turner says.

Included with each pan are simplified decorating directions, with baking tips and links to helpful videos.

“There are two tricks to getting the cake out of the pan so it won’t stick,” Turner says. “First you need to grease and flour the pan very well with shortening, not butter. You can’t miss any spots. Cover the pan with a very thin layer of shortening and then cover that with a thin layer of flour. If you miss a spot, you need to touch it up.”

It’s important to let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan, cut the bottom level and then flip it onto a cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely before decorating, or else the frosting will melt and slide right off.

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A Scout with honor

The cake project earned Turner a Gold Award, capping off years of experience in Girl Scouts.

Turner, the daughter of Mary and Bill Turner, has been a Girl Scout since first grade.

“I have been every version of a Girl Scout, from Daisy through Ambassador,” says Turner, who plans to attend Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, to major in audio engineering technology, minor in art, and march with the Vanderbilt Spirit of Gold Marching Band.

She has had many unique experiences through Girl Scouts, such as sleeping in a submarine, learning camping skills, volunteering at the faith-based Elizabethtown farm retreat Wittel Farm and building lasting friendships. She earned a Silver Award by building a woodshed and fire pit for Wittel Farm.

Earning her Gold Award seemed like the proper final step in her Girl Scout career.

So, reflecting on her own special birthdays, Turner wanted to make it affordable for anyone to have a special cake.

“The Friendly Lion and the Dinosaur are particularly adorable. The Butterfly and Daisy pans are versatile, since they could be for a birthday, baby shower, bridal shower or garden party,” Turner says.

But, she does have a favorite.

“I’m still pretty fond of the pony,” Turner says.