To Bake In Layers Or Not....
Decorating By CakeMakerNewbie Updated 17 Jul 2007 , 5:22am by shoup_family
I was told by a friend of mine who often makes cakes that when she uses the large square cake pan (12"), that she only uses 1/2 of the cake batter (enough for one layer) bakes it, than uses the other half. I'm guessing this is because she is worried about all that cake batter at once will cause a problem with baking correctly or over baking? Can anyone recommend a suggestion or comment on this? I don't want to have to spend double the amount of time in the kitchen if this is just her way of doing it, plus I only have one 12" pan and I don't want to bake half, let it cool, than remove it and bake the other half.
Also, I am baking at cake with this pan tonight for a baby shower on Sunday, can I cool the cake completely than wrap it in saran wrap and keep in the fridge until I decorate it Saturday?
Thanks~
Maybe she doesn't know how to tort or is uncomfortable with torting it, but there is no way I am spending twice the time baking something that can be done in one shot.
I have pans as large at 16" round and a rectangle that is 14x22, and I bake the whole cake in one shot.
Did she offer any kind of reason on why she does this?
I believe her reason was that it takes too long for the whole cake to bake at once. To me it seems your spending the same amount of time by doing it twice anyway!?!
Do you bake yours at a lower temp than the "standard" size pans that are recommended on the back of the cake mix box?
I'm also assuming that I would need to rotate the pan several times in the oven to get an even bake.
I'd bake it all at once. Letting half of the cake batter sit around for the time it takes the first half to bake will cause the leavening agents to not work properly. The second half won't rise as well & your texture will be different.
You can use flower nails or a heat core to help it bake evenly. I bake most of my cakes at 325 - I have a couple of recipes that do better at 350.
Good luck!
Bec
I bake mine all at one time on 325. I use the bands that make it bake even so I don't have to turn it.
I also bake my big cakes a day or so before and wrap them in saran wrap and just leave them on my dining table. As long as your A/C is on they stay fresh. I'm not a big fan of putting them in the fridge. I feel like it changes the texture of the cake. But that's just my opinion.
I bake at 325, with baking strips, to help ensure a more level cake with a good rise. Rotating the pan depends on how even your oven bakes. If you have a hot spot in the back right corner, then you need to rotate. I don't rotate mine.
While I understand her thinking on "half the time" to bake, I had to smile. My 14 year old made a batch of brownies last night and she made a double batch. The directions said to bake for 30 minutes. So she thought since it was a double batch, that she had to bake them for 60 minutes! ( I got a LOT of work to do with her!).
So let me get this straight. Your friend thinks baking 2 cakes at 15 minutes is faster than baking one cake for 30 minutes? Plus the time to wash and re-grease the pan? 
OK, remind me NOT to hire her to work in a kitchen that depends on fast productivity! 
If your worried about the cake not baking evenly, use a heating core (or flower nails) and/or bake even strips. Also, I do usually lower my temp by about 25 degrees and then just keep an eye on it. As much as torting is not my favorite part of making a cake, I'd much rather do that than bake it in layers. HTH
I bake in layers but I have a couple pans that I use. My problem is that I'm really bad at torting, and that's why I do it. I'd love to be able to tort and not have to bake as much. I can never get my layers level when I tort though. My cake always ends up uneven.
Thanks everyone!!
I will take everyones advise and bake it all at once. For the flower nail, I just stick one in the middle and thats it? I don't have a heating core, just the metal flower nail that came in the kit. Will one work, or should I buy a couple more?? Would it be worth it to buy a heating core. I don't recall seeing that at my local craft store (the big name one, "M's").
Thanks everyone!!
I will take everyones advise and bake it all at once. For the flower nail, I just stick one in the middle and thats it? I don't have a heating core, just the metal flower nail that came in the kit. Will one work, or should I buy a couple more?? Would it be worth it to buy a heating core. I don't recall seeing that at my local craft store (the big name one, "M's").
Hi im a newbie to i was told you only use the heating core in pans that are larger than 12 so i dont know ive never used the nail but im going to have to give it a try the next time i back in my small ovals cause for some reason my cakes are starting to crack in the middle most of the time i can level it off
Thanks everyone!!
I will take everyones advise and bake it all at once. For the flower nail, I just stick one in the middle and thats it? I don't have a heating core, just the metal flower nail that came in the kit. Will one work, or should I buy a couple more?? Would it be worth it to buy a heating core. I don't recall seeing that at my local craft store (the big name one, "M's").
bake all at once and tort if u're comfortable with that.....i just use a flower nail for a 12" round (yes, just grease it along with the pan and place flat side down in the middle of the pan before u pour in the batter).....i use the heating core for cakes 14" or bigger.....i also use a flower nail in my 11X15" and 2 in bigger rectangle pans.....u can pick up a heating core at most stores that sell the wilton pans.....my michael's has them and i have a craft house that carries them too
I baked a 3 inch cake, at 325 with a flower nail, and for some reason I found that it took like an hour and a half for just a 10 inch, and then of course it was drier, a bit darker and I just didn't like it. At least with this fresh strawberry cake recipe, I had better luck doing 2 , 1 1/2 inch cakes. .... I'd definitely rather do it all at once though! hmmm 
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