How to fix a broken springform cake pan

About a month ago I hosted Rosh Hashanah at my house. 
Dinner went well, everyone enjoyed the meal, and we had a lovely time.  

Next, it was cake time! For this special occasion I baked a great honey spiced cake in one of my springform pans.  

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should check them out. These pans are great for cakes and desserts that are prone to fall apart when removed from regular cake pans. The springform pans have a special feature: the rim loosens from the base of the pan when you open the clamp.  You can't imagine how useful this is. I regularly bake in these pans, remove the rim and display my cakes on a nice serving platter or cake stand, thus avoiding all the mess and possible problems involved in removing a cake from a cake pan. Finally, if you have cake leftovers, you can reattach the rim to the base, cover the pan with and replace it in your fridge. It's a really great feature!By the way, some of the pans come with two different bases, for use as a tube pan or a regular round cake pan.  

If you don't have a springform cake pan I recommend adding one to your kitchen for delicate cakes, such as chocolate mousse cakes and cheese cakes, or as I use them for . As I was pulling it out of the fridge, it hit the fridge door and got a small dent on the top of the pan. I was a little upset, because I really like that pan, but I didn't give it much thought. After I served the cake I had some cake left and was planning on closing the rim back, and placing the cake in the fridge. To my dismay the pan didn't lock itself when I closed the clamp! 

Lucky for me I have a very handy Dad that was happy to take the pan with the rest of the cake to fix it for me!  Lucky for you :) he took photos of the very simple and quick process in case your springform pan ceases to function.

So how do you fix a springform cake pan? 

In the photo below you can see my springform pan. The long silver handle is the clamp handle. When pressed all the way to the left, the rim is closed and locked. When pulled to the right (as you can see in the next photo) the clamp loosens and the rim opens and you can detach the cake base and cake or dessert from the rim. 

The yellow arrow is pointing to a metal piece attaching the clamp hinge to the pan. 

In order to fix the pan all you need to do, is, use a set of flat nose pliers and bend the metal piece to the left, thus strengthening the clamp lock to its previous abilities. 

This are a couple of photos of the fixed pan! you can see how the silver handle is pressed against the side of the cake rim.

And another view from the top: 

My beloved springform pan is as good as new! 

If you found a great way to fix a baking appliance, tell me about it and I'll be happy to share it on my blog ! 

Happy Caking!