Ok, so I would like to try this recipe and I would like to get two 10x2 round pans.  I'd like the layers high enough to level & torte both and end up with a 4" high cake.  The recipe says it makes 2 9" pans.  Do you think I should do 1 1/2 x's the recipe? I'm worried that if I only fill my pans 1/2 way, I may not get enough height but 3/4 may be too full.   I stink at science, hoping one of you brilliant bakers will take pity on me....

Strawberry Cake from Scratch

I always rely on the WIlton Batter Amounts Chart to figure out how many cups of batter I need per pan, but of course that doesn't help you figure out how many cups of batter any given recipe will make.

If the recipe tells you that it will make two 9-inch pans, you can almost always bet that you're not going to get two full 2-inch layers.  I would probably double the recipe to be safe, and then be ready to make cupcakes with any extra, or something like that.

Thank you!  You are probably right.  I'd rather be safe than sorry.  I don't have a lot of time to experiment with this recipe like I usually do.

Also, if you're smart (which I often am not), you'll make a note on your copy of this recipe, saying how many cups of batter you got, and/or how many pans it filled, so that next time you'll know!

Two 9" pans, per Wilton chart, need 5 cups of batter. Two 10" pans need 6 cups of batter. That is 20% more.  Tadah!

If all else fails, fill to just over 1/2 up to 2/3 and freeze the leftover batter or make cupcakes. But it looks like 1 and 1/4 recipe is plenty.

johnson6ofusit would be very unlikely for a "regular" recipe that claims to make two 9-inch pans to make 9-inch layers that were a full 2 inches high.  At best you usually get 1.5 inches...if you're lucky.

So...you'd need 25% more just to get 2-inch layers in the original size of pan, and then another 20% of that to make the bigger size.  Do the math, and that's 62.5% more batter than the original, and even a 1 1/2 batch won't do the trick.

Plus, with an unfamiliar recipe you really just never know how much batter you'll get or how well it will rise.  The lesson I always come back to is: your time is worth more than your ingredients.  "Twice as much" is simple math that won't take much time to calculate, and it removes any risk of needing to bake all over again because there wasn't enough batter.

I've learned the hard way too many times that trying to make "just enough" bites me more often than not.

Thank you both!  I hate doing new recipes because I never know if the batter will double or not and I really want the full two inches. Wondering if there are certain types of cakes, i.e. sponges, that double and others don't, know what I mean? I thought the batter amounts would be different depending on the type of cake. So, wasn't sure how accurate that chart is.  I'm tired of trial and error and wasting cake, grrr

Yes, geekycakes, that is a great tip and I actually do that.  You should see my recipes, I write all over them.  You have to read them though.  I have a vanilla sponge recipe that I wrote in red ink and underlined "do not fill more than 1/2 way" across the top....6 months later, guess what I did?

Yeah, Jinkies there is certainly variation in recipes, but I've found that chart to be accurate surprisingly often (even with gluten-free recipes), and at least it gives you a place to start so you're not shooting in the dark.

These days I just aim to make too much and put the rest into the freezer (or feed it to the 5-year-old, who is always happy to help).

Thanks, geekycakes, I appreciate your help.  I think I'll double it to be safe, makes the most sense.  :)

Hey jinkies,

I was looking at this recipe and trying to figure out what I would do.   I concluded after looking over the measurements and using good old fashioned guessing (highly scientific method. Lol) I would do a double batch.  

I say this because it would be *my* luck that the one batch wouldn't yield as much as the recipe says and then I would do the half recipe and still not end up with enough to cover my needs and then be stuck whipping up a third batch....does that make sense? (By then I would be cursing said recipe and swearing to never again ere on the side of less)

But on the other hand, maybe you will discover that one recipe will yield far more than you anticipate.   I say this becasue I have had a recent chocolate cake recipe that I have now made 3 times in the last two weeks that says in the recipe that it is sized for 3-8x2 pans.   Except I yield 5 8"x2.......every single time I make it.   And the cakes rise ALL the way to the tops of the pans so I know I am not screwing up the filling of the pans.      I have decided that this is a hidden blessing because now I get my own chocolate cake to eat as well as my customer without all the extra work ;) (my clothes however doth protest much as they are getting rather snug as a result of the overage) 

Yes, yes, I'm going to need a good diet now that graduation season is ending.  Thank you for your thoughts and I totally agree. My caking brain was muy fried last night after already experimenting with another strawberry cake recipe.  At least this one is a simple recipe and I can whip it out pretty quick.  I'm gonna try it this afternoon. :)

The recipe you posted looks very similar to the one found here

http://sweetapolita.com/2011/08/strawberry-layer-cake-with-whipped-strawberry-frosting/

I made a 10" cake by doubling this recipe and it was well over 4" tall and delicious. Someone at the party even requested it as their wedding cake 2 years later :) 

Also the frosting on that post tastes like strawberry ice cream, which as you can imagine, is to die for.

Thank you so much!!  It's almost exact!

I was getting frustrated by all the guessing too. So I made my own chart by calculating the volume of each pan.

In my case, to get a final cake 4 inch high, 1 recipe = 7 inch in diameter cake pan.

By using this tool to calculate volume (http://www.online-calculators.co.uk/volumetric/cylindervolume.php) I can see that a 10 inch cake pan is 2x the volume of a 7 inch cake pan. Here's my table. If you can't get a 3/4 recipe for example, then just round it to 2.

Round (in.)

Recipe

6

¾

7

1

8

1 ¼

9

1 ¾

10

2

12

3

14

4

Square

6

1

8

1 ¾

10

3

12

4

14

5

Rectangle

7 x 11 x 2

1 ¼

9 x 13 x 2

2

11 x 15 x 2

3 ½

12 x 18 x 2

4

14 x 22 x 2

5 ¼

 Hope this helps.

oups, that didn't copy well.

Here it is:

6 in round pan = 3/4 of a recipe

7 in = 1

8 in = 1 1/4 

9 in = 1 3/4

10 in = 3

12 in = 3

14 in = 4

6 in square pan = 1 recipe

8 in = 1 3/4

10 in = 3

12 in = 4

14 in = 5

7 x 11 x 2 (high) Rectangle = 1 1/4 recipe

9 x 13 x 2 = 2

11 x 15 x 2 = 3 1/2

12 x 18 x 2 = 4

14 x 22 x 2 = 5 1/4  

Why can't we edit our posts!

6 in round pan = 3/4 of a recipe

7 in = 1

8 in = 1 1/4 

9 in = 1 3/4

10 in = 2

12 in = 3

14 in = 4

6 in square pan = 1 recipe

8 in = 1 3/4

10 in = 3

12 in = 4

14 in = 5

7 x 11 x 2 (high) Rectangle = 1 1/4 recipe

9 x 13 x 2 = 2

11 x 15 x 2 = 3 1/2

12 x 18 x 2 = 4

14 x 22 x 2 = 5 1/4   

Well I meant to actually write something under the quote...but hit submit....doh!

i wanted to point out that the recipe I am having so much overage on is ALSO a sweetapolita recipe. (Her "simple splendid chocolate cake" recipe)

(her recipes are ridiculously GOOD.....have yet to come across one that isn't super delicious)

 YES! Sweetapolita's cakes always come out like a dream and she has great ideas. I got her bakebook a few months back and it is awesome. So creative! I highly recommend it :)

Bless your sweet souls, you guys!  I went with the Sweetapolita's recipe (in the oven now).  I did double it and it filled both 10" pans about 2/3 up.  Let me just say, the batter is scrumptious!

MKC, I'm totally printing that out...you feel my pain...you get it :)

Thanks, everyone, for helping my exhausted cake brain.  It's nice to know when frazzled, I can come on here and ask any stupid question and get lot's of help!

Think I'm gonna head on over to Sweetapolita's and check out some more of her recipes....

Jinkies, 

i was one of her lucky winners of her bakebook giveaway.   I am utterly obsessed with her bakebook.   I cannot sing it's praises high enough.   and having to email with her back and forth over the contest stuff, I can attest that she is one of the kindest, warmest people I have encountered in a long time! (Which makes me like her book even more since she is so authentic)

I am also loving "The Artisan cake company" for so many tutorials,  I want Liz Marek's book SO bad!

If you find that many recipes that say they will make two, 8 or 9 inch layers only make layers that are 1 1/2 inches high - it is likely that they are recipes developed in the times when pans of these dimensions were only 1 1/2 inches high. That is why you need to do a trial run of a recipe and measure out the batter for future use. These pans were the norm until at least the 70's and possibly 80's and beyond.

Well, two recipes later and I have my nice high 10" layers.  Doubled the batter the first time and filled 2/3 full.  Overflowed into my oven, yay.  So, I started over and filled a little less and, duh, used collars.  Thank God I did because it still would have overflowed.  But, alas I did get some nice high fluffy layers.  Glad I re-did it because the 1st batch seems much heavier/more dense. 

I still have to make some white cake tonight but I've used that recipe many times so I know it well.

@mccantsbakes, This recipe tastes great (I made some cupcakes with the leftover batter).  So, I think I'm gonna look into her book as well.  And, I love Liz Mareks tutorials too.  Actually, I love any tutorials, haha!

That's a lot of rise!

I'm glad you got it to work.  Take notes for the future!