Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

Thank you. I guess i was putting too less batter below half of the vessle. I will try it again. Will feel the vessle till 1/2 the level and bake it at 375 deg F.

Reply to this      Posted by: ABC | November 15, 2008 2:13 PM #

I was making a great vegan cake, had been baking for past 2 years. But suddenly the other day i had problem when i tried baking in half the quantity. plus i have moved to the new house, and tried baking cake for the first time. it gave good results for eggless oatmeal bars. but with eggless cake it was the flop show. Recipe mentioned the temperature was 375 deg F. So for half the quantity and 6 inch pan instead of 9 inch, should it be 400 deg F?
Thank you

Reply to this      Posted by: abc | November 14, 2008 2:48 PM #

Do you have to reduce the oven temperature for 6 inch cake because my cake sunk this time with half quantities of ingredients.

Reply to this      Posted by: ABC | November 13, 2008 5:41 PM #

Caroline--you could just try it with beaten eggs whites in place of the whole eggs.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | October 1, 2008 11:50 AM #

Question? I am attempting to make a cake sold at a local bakery. The name of the cake is Philly Fluff. I search the internet for the reciepe. However, all receipes although made with cream cheese contain eggs and are heavy. The bakery, I believe, has no egg yolks because it is white and very fluffy. Can you recommend a substitution for the eggs that will create a light (almost like angel food) cake and white pound cake made with cream cheese?

Thank you.

Reply to this      Posted by: Caroline Campbell | October 1, 2008 11:04 AM #

I realize that this is all about cakes but I am hoping you can answer this question. Instead of making 2 9" pies can I put everything in a 9x12 baking dish? The "crust" is madde from a cake mix, not the typical pie crust. Would the temperature and be the baking time be the same as one pie?

Reply to this      Posted by: Sue C. | September 30, 2008 6:58 PM #

thank you rose, i would have made that cake and been dismayed at the result.

if you don't mind my asking, do you know of a way to incorporate champagne in a cake? i hate to use recipes that aren't yours and "champagne" is the theme of the party.

Reply to this      Posted by: marie | August 28, 2008 2:13 PM #

rose, i am the subway cake baker from 2006 (see above), returning to ask yet another question about cake pans. tonight i am making a cake for a champagne-themed party. the plan is to make a champagne castle cake set on a platform with a champagne moat. i live by the words of The Cake Bible but it does not have a champagne recipe, so i found one for chiffon cake online which looks good:

http://bakingbites.com/2007/12/champagne-chiffon-cake

the problem is that i have to make a 13x9 sheet cake - not use a tube pan.

question #1 is: can i pour chiffon batter into a flat pan and bake it at 325? will that work?

question #2 is: what type of frosting do you recommend? i have to frost it with something, as it is a novelty cake and i am decorating it with candy. i was thinking maybe your mousseline buttercream?

as always, thank you very much!

marie

Reply to this      Posted by: marie | August 28, 2008 10:03 AM #

Debbie--you could also watch the video for Rose's lecture on flour where she discusses this.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | February 3, 2008 11:06 AM #

I was reading over the comments of 2/1 and saw remarks about UNbleached verses bleached flour. I've always used these interchangeably. Will you clarify the difference.
Also, what will your next book be? I can't wait. When will you be releasing it?

Your my hero!
Debbie

Reply to this      Posted by: Debbie | February 2, 2008 8:46 AM #

I was able to score some 7" pans at the Broadway Panhandler...and they work really well with 1/2 a recipe for 9" cakes. I have four of them. I often bake four layers in my 7 " pans and make two small layer cakes...one for us at home (only two of us...how much cake can we eat?) and one to give away...always have lots of friends on hand when there are rose's cakes to give away!

Reply to this      Posted by: Bill | February 1, 2008 3:57 PM #

I should add that when making a butter cake, the leavening doesn't scale proportionally, so I use Rose's charts in the back of the cake bible to make the appropriate adjustments.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | February 1, 2008 10:14 AM #

Thanks for offering this information Michelle--I made an excel sheet like this last year because I often bake 6'' cakes. I wanted to share how I apply these calculations to a recipe because it is a slightly different approach.

I calculate the volume of the desired size pan and divide it by the volume of the original volume of the recipe. For example, 6x2 pan is 57 and 9x2 is 127. 57/127 is .45--I then multiply the grams by 45% to have my scaled down recipe.

This corresponds to Barbara's practical advice that a 6'' pan holds half as much as a 9''--and it is easier just to use 50% instead of 45% in this case, and simply have a tiny bit of batter leftover.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | February 1, 2008 10:04 AM #

Thank you, Michelle!

I'd like to add a few quick conversions that I use often -- these are all for pans of approximately the same height.

One 9-inch round pan holds about the same as one 8-inch square pan.

One 6-inch round pan holds about half as much as one 9-inch round pan. (Handy for testing recipes.)

One 8-inch square pan or one 9-inch round pan holds about half as much as a 9x13 inch pan. (Good for recipes for bars, brownies or sheet cakes.)

Reply to this      Posted by: Barbara A. | January 31, 2008 10:13 PM #

Thanks for taking the time to post this info Michelle. It is very useful.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | January 30, 2008 4:02 PM #

Michelle - I really appreciate your post... thanks so much!

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | January 30, 2008 3:51 PM #

Regarding different sized pans: I, too, have struggled with this. One way to determine both the FULL size of your pan and the amount of BATTER you need:

A) Your pan is square or rectangular:
1) Use the formula Length x Width X Height. Measure all dimensions in the same unit (for those of us in the US this will likely be inches). This will give you your FULL pan volume, in cubic inches (or cubic -insert units here-). Let's assume a sheet pan of dimensions 11" X 15" x 2".

volume=11" * 15" * 2"
volume=330 cubic inches

2) Go to http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.htm

3) In the "Convert What Quantity" box, type in your FULL pan volume (330)

4) In the From: box, select the units. Again, in the US, you will select "cubic inch"

5) In the To: box, select "cup [US]" (or whatever measure you need)

6) This will give you your FULL pan volume in cups. The example in #1 above will result in 22.9 cups [US].

7) Here's the important bit: Since Rose's cake batter is only supposed to fill half the pan, divide that FULL pan volume in half.

BATTER = 22.9 / 2
BATTER = 11.45 cups

(Frugal types round down; messy types like me, round up. :-) )

8) Now you have the cups of BATTER you need to make.

B) Your pan is circular:
1) Find (or know) the diameter of your pan (the length of pan at its widest point). Divide it in half. That's your radius.

2) Use the formula pi (3.1415) * (radius squared) * height of pan. So, if you have a 10" pan that is 2" high, your calculation would look like:
3.1415 * (5 X 5) * 2
3.1415 * 25 * 2
157.075 cubic inches

3) Follow steps 2 thru 8 above.

C) Your pan is oval:

1) Use the formula pi (3.1415) * (Length of Pan at longest side/2) * (Length of Pan at shortest side/2) * height of pan. So, if you have an oval pan that measures 10" at its longest side and 4" at its shortest side, and is 2" high, your calculation would look like:
3.1415 * 10/2 * 4/2 * 2
3.1415 * 5 * 2 * 2
62.83 cubic inches

2) Follow steps 2 thru 8 above.

D) Irregular-shaped pans (Wilton, character pans, etc):

1) Use Rose's method of pouring water into it to see how much water it will hold. You can use whatever measure you like here. We'll use US ounces.

2) Go to http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.htm

3) In the "Convert What Quantity" box, type in your FULL pan volume.

4) In the From: box, select the units. Again, in the US, you will select "ounce [US liquid]"

5) In the To: box, select "cup [US]" (or whatever measure you need)

6) This will give you your FULL pan volume in cups.

7) Here's the important bit: Since Rose's cake batter is only supposed to fill half the pan, divide that FULL pan volume in half.

Sorry this was more detailed than I planned, but I thought it would be helpful for more people than just myself.

Michelle

Reply to this      Posted by: Michelle | January 30, 2008 10:38 AM #

I am looking for a recipe for a pound cake made with cream cheese and swirled with chocolate.

I am also looking for a pan that wide at the top tapering to a narrower bottom.

Can anyone help?

Reply to this      Posted by: Carolyn | December 17, 2007 11:24 AM #

What size pan would I use to double brownie recipe that calls for an 8 inch square pan. I want the brownies to retain the same texture. Thank you

Reply to this      Posted by: Shirley | December 9, 2007 1:52 PM #

Hi Rose,

I just made a delicious nut-based cake for a friend's birthday. It comes out of an old cookbook by Artur Rubinstein's wife, called Nela's Cookbook. The cake is a gorgeous Polish recipe called Torte Orzechowy, with a luscious chocolate rum butter filling, and a dark chocolate icing, and to me it's very similar to a Passover nut cake, consisting mainly of walnuts and eggs. I'm wondering if this spongy nut batter would work as a bûche de noël, baked in a 15"x 10" jelly-roll pan, rolled around a filling and frosted. I'd be very pleased to know your thinking on this. The recipe is posted on my blog:
http://fingerineverypie.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/12/nuttiness-as-pr.html

I know this is a busy season for you, but if you have a moment to check it out, I'd love to know what you think.

Thanks,

Julie
http://fingerineverypie.typepad.com

Reply to this      Posted by: Julie | December 3, 2007 8:26 AM #

I have a great Red Velvet Cake recipe that I make in two 8 inch pans BUT this time I want to make it in a 9X13 rectangle pan. How long should it bake? I usually have to bake the two pans for 20 minutes at 350 but I have no idea how long to bake the one rectangel cake. Thanks for any help you can give. I want to make the cake as a gift for my mother. She have been a member of her church for 73 of her 88 years and they are giving her a surprise appreciation program.

Reply to this      Posted by: Gwendolyn Rafter | October 31, 2007 5:41 PM #

Where can I get the boxes to fit the top layer of cake that the bride takes home? It's 6"X6".

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | January 4, 2007 11:45 AM #

I am baking carrot cakes for my son's wedding on Sept. 2 - my future daughter-in-law wants cream cheese frosting. Is there some way to make the frosting stand up to heat and humidity should the weather be warm? The cakes will not be stacked, but will be displayed on stands of different heights. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Arleen

Reply to this      Posted by: Arleen | August 11, 2006 10:48 AM #

I really need help ASAP. My son's graduation party is Saturday 7/1/06 and I need a basic wedding type white cake recipe for a 12 x 18 sheet cake pan. If someone could either e-mail me one or point me in the right direction I would be ever so gratefull. My email is ggallet1@twcny.rr.com.

Thanks,
Gary

Reply to this      Posted by: Gary | June 27, 2006 6:44 PM #

Dear Mrs. Beranbaum,

Hi-this is the first time I've logged onto your website. I happen to own your book The Cake Bible and have found it particularly useful in further developing my understanding of baking cakes. I am currently a Baking and Pastry Arts student about to enter my second semester. We were briefly introduced to the concept of Baker's Percent last semester. I'm quickly finding that my growing knowledge will also have to take place out of the class setting. My current question is if you have a recipe written in cups, teaspoons, etc. how do you begin to convert it to weight and apply Baker's Percent to create a formula? For example, 3 cups flour, 6 eggs, etc. Furthermore, are there any resources (i.e. books, websites) that delve into the concept of Baker's Percent and creating your own cake formulas? Thank you. Robin

Reply to this      Posted by: Robin Bingham | June 26, 2006 9:07 AM #