Hi All
I've found that you really can't go by the Wilton measures, as a rule, for height. There are many different kinds of cakes and some rise a lot and some don't rise much at all.
You can try 1 1/4- 1 1/2 of the recipe to see if that helps. It's really just a lot of trial and error with your recipes.
I've been playing with 3" pans and have learned that sponge type cakes don't do well in higher than 2" but butter type cakes can do well in 3" pans. This is due to the whole science behind the rise of the cake batter.
As, kramersl asked, posting your recipe may help us to help you more.
I'm interested in responses to this as well because I've never managed to get particularly deep cakes. I generally use a recipe that says for a 6"/15cm tin its 2 eggs, and 4oz (160g) of butter, caster sugar and self raising flour. For a 7"/18cm tin use 3 eggs and 175g of sugar, flour and butter or for an 8"/20cm tin use 4 eggs and 8oz/225g of sugar, flour and butter.
Shasha you need to fill each pan at least 1/2 to 2/3rds full. Do not go by how many cups something is said to hold because most people when measuring something thick like cake batter do NOT scrape all the batter out of the cup each measure therefor your amount is wrong! If the pan is 2" deep you can measure how deep the batter is - should be at least 1 to 1 1/2". If you pan is not 2" deep you will not get a 4" high cake from 2 layers. I never cared for baking in 3" deep pans because it throws off the timing and chemistry of baking (IMHO).
Hi All
So i decided to try filling the tin 3/4 full instead of going of the wilton guide and it did rise much higher plus i also decided to cream the butter and sugar together which also seemed to make much more mixture as well. The Recipe i use is just self raising flour, plain flour, butter, eggs, milk, vanilla extract and sugar which is just all thrown in together and mixed up which i wouldnt normally do but the taste was great.
I also asked the maker of the cake i was trying to make and they used the 3/4 full tin covered with foil to make the dome not so big which i think for me id an issue the recipe is making a big dome on top which really is wasting the cake mixture. I did try the towel method but it seemed to affect the cake baking and made a huge crack in the top.
Well it sounds like your problem is/was a combination of things. I've never heard of covering a pan w/foil while baking a cake :( Also, if you are getting a big dome on the baked cake the temp you are baking at is too high. Every oven is somewhat different - bakes things differently so following a recipe *to the letter* so to speak doesn't always work. You have to learn how to work with your oven and each recipe. Good to hear you are having better luck by trying different things.
I'm not sure where you live or what you have access to but what I use is Wilton Bake Even Strips. I would imagine they are similar to the towel method but I'm not sure what that entails. The strips are thick layers of cotton which you wet down and wrap around your pan. This helps to insulate the sides of the pan so that the sides don't bake too quickly. Also turn the temperature of your oven down. Most recipes state 350 F. I usually turn it down to 325 F and if you are using dark pans you may want to reduce further. Do not bake with the convection fan and as previously stated, only fill your pan to 1/2 to 2/3 full. I usually find that one mix or recipe is usually the right amount for 2 - 8" pans and that's about 5 cups I think.
I used to hate baking as it would always dome and half the cake would be lost. Using some of these tips I learned in the Wilton classes, I don't mind the baking part anymore.
Good Luck!
I'm going to give you a recipe someone gave me years ago and always delivers good high cakes.
350 grammes of self raising flour sifted @ 1 teaspoon baking powder
350 grammes softened butter or margarine
350 grammes caster sugar
6 large eggs
1-2 teaspoons of good vanilla + splash of milk to loosen
You can cream the butter and sugar and do the 1 egg at a time and sifting thing, but when in a rush I have used the all in one method with no ill effects.
Fill two 8 inch pans (I weigh the filled pans and its roughly 800 grammes each) These are cake pans not what we call sandwich tins which are very shallow.
Oven temp is 160 for a slow even rise for approx. 40 mins but you'll have to know your own oven
This will give you 2 good 2 + inch cakes which you can torte and fill and stack.
It also gives a generous 2" + cake in a 12 inch pan round or square for a wedding or celebration cake.
it makes the most delicious chocolate cake too if you substitute 150 grammes of cocoa powder for 150 g of flour and cold coffee for the milk.
It freezes beautifully, is moist and delicious and adaptable to any flavours you like
But....but..you need to know your own oven...they are temperamental wee things x
@ Cake Baby.......you are what makes me LOVE this site so........love the generous spirit of our cake mentors :)
You're very welcome girls, someone gave the recipe to me so I am very happy to pass it on. Play with it, add coffee and walnuts (delish) with a choc or coffee frosting....torte it thin soak in syrup fill with marscapone and pass it off as tiramisu..I did that and guests were none the wiser lol!
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