Imagine this: You found a lovely recipe for a 30cm cake but only have 15cm cake tins at home. Upon halving the recipe and using the 15cm cake tins, you realise that your cake isn’t turning out the way the recipe says it should! Why is this so?
Well, it turns out that the cake tin size you use matters more than you think! Beyond the obvious consequence that the amount of batter might not fit your substituted tin, there are other aspects like shape and batter height or thickness that will affect the recipe.
Before you go ahead and switch the recommended cake tin on that recipe, let’s explore why having the right cake tin size matters.
1. The amount of batter is made for that tin size
Recipe writers usually have a good reason for recommending a particular cake tin size. Swapping for another tin size can result in the batter overflowing or not filling up enough of the pan.
As a general rule of thumb, cake tins should not be more than half-filled with batter, as the cake will rise while baking. If you substitute for a small cake tin and find that you have too much batter, reserve some for a second cake instead of pouring it all in. Alternatively, you can do the nitty-gritty maths, calculate the pans’ volumetric ratio, and adjust the number of ingredients accordingly.
2. Cake size affects baking time
We all know the importance of baking time on your bake, but cake size can change the baking time required. Using the same amount of batter in a 15cm pan versus a 30cm pan will require different baking times, simply because the 30cm cake will be much thinner and spread out than the 15cm one. Even if you adjust the recipe and use the right proportion of batter for the substitute tin, the different sizes of cake tins will conduct heat differently and require different baking times.
In any event that you do try to substitute the cake tin sizes in a recipe, try to adjust the baking time according to whether your batter is thicker or more spread out than the recipe intended. You may have to experiment to get the optimum timing for the cake tin you are using.
3. Cake tins affect the structure of the cake
So far, we have mentioned cake size and baking timing, which you can overcome with some mathematical manipulation. But here’s an interesting tidbit about cake tin size: it affects the structure of the cake, too.
The walls of cake pans exert pressure on the batter as it rises, and this tension is higher in a small cake pan than in a large one. As a result, cakes in small cake pans tend to rise more – but bear in mind that rapid rising can cause a cake to collapse!
Conclusion
The matter of cake pan sizes is not as straightforward as one might think. In fact, there is quite a science behind it, and a baker needs to understand it before tweaking the recipe. If you have tried changing out a different cake pan for a recipe and failed to get the results you wanted, now you know why!
So, you may decide that today’s not the day to grapple with mathematical calculations or buy a new cake pan. The next best solution? You can still order cakes online in Singapore to enjoy a treat and satiate your sweet tooth until your next bake! Explore our popular whole cakes, including assorted chocolate flavours and fruity creations, at our online bakery in Singapore today.
