Hi,
I wanted to make one of the sponge cakes and have a small problem.  All these recipes call for two or three forms.  I have an European size oven (60 cm wide) and I can not fit three forms on one level.  Question:  Can I bake the cake in one bigger form (26 cm - 10.26 inches) and then cut in three layers?  Can I bake the cake in three forms on three different levels in my oven?  I have an oven with circulating air, but have never baked cakes on two or more levels.  Should I make any adjustments?  If anyone has an idea, please let me know.  Thanks Barbara

Barbara, are you making biscuit de savoie?  I think that may be the only sponge-type recipe which calls for 2 or 3 layers. 

What size are your pans?  You could scale the recipe to fit one 10.25” x 2” deep round, is that the size you want to use?  I think there would be no problem with a 2” deep pan.  A deeper pan or springform (2.5”-3” deep) might work, but I’m not certain and haven’t tried it.  You want to encourage this kind of cake to be as high and light as possible, so I would hesitate to try to bake it in too deep a layer.

The capacity of three 9” x 1.5” rounds is 19.5 cups, while the capacity of one 10.25” x 2” round is 11.3 cups, so your conversion factor for the eight-egg recipe would be 11.3/19.5 = 0.58. 

But that only works if your pan is 2” high, and I suspect it is metric…  How high are they?

I wanted to use 10.25 inch form that is 3 inches high (spring form).  Will that work?  Did you ever bake two cakes on two levels in your oven with circulating air on?

Not sure about the 3” high pan, you could try it but it would be an experiment and might have a more dense texture and/or more dryness from the longer baking time.  Capacity of a 10.25 x 3 cylinder is 16.9 cups, so your conversion factor would be 16.9/19.5 = 0.87.

Yes, I have baked two layers in my oven at the same time, with convection, they don’t come out quite as perfectly as one layer baked in the lower third.  The layer on top tends to be a little shorter.  Also, with two pans any hotspots seem harder to avoid.

So when you bake cakes, you always fit two pans on one level?  Next kitchen I get I need a 90 cm wide oven   Will try to get two small pans and see if they fit on my rack…

Sorry, no they don’t fit on one level, I put them on two levels.  Yesterday I baked cupcakes on three levels- not my preference but I was pressed for time and so had to mix and bake all at once.  All the cupcakes were delicious and worth serving, but the only ones to be perfectly shaped were the middle rack.  Upper rack were more peaked, and bottom rack was flat/mushroom-shaped. 

It won’t be perfect to bake them on two different levels, but it might be good enough to suit your needs.  The cake baked higher in the oven tends to crust earlier and be shorter in height.

Well, I baked today a victoria sponge cake that needed to go to 2 forms, but I placed it into 1 larger form.  It was ok, it peaked in the middle, but it was ok.  I cut it in two layers, spread with jam and whipped cream and sprinkled with powder sugar.  I didn’t care that it peaked since I did not need to ice it, but I want to try some of the other recipes and they should be flat.  Will go to a store on monday and get two forms same size and bake on two levels.  Will let you know how it came out.  Thanks so much for you input. 
Barbara

Julie - 14 March 2010 09:12 AM

Sorry, no they don’t fit on one level, I put them on two levels.  Yesterday I baked cupcakes on three levels- not my preference but I was pressed for time and so had to mix and bake all at once.  All the cupcakes were delicious and worth serving, but the only ones to be perfectly shaped were the middle rack.  Upper rack were more peaked, and bottom rack was flat/mushroom-shaped. 

It won’t be perfect to bake them on two different levels, but it might be good enough to suit your needs.  The cake baked higher in the oven tends to crust earlier and be shorter in height.

Interesting results from your cupcakes. 

You mentioned that cakes baked on a higher oven rack tend to crust earlier and be shorter. Is this for ovens with the heating element on top or bottom?  I have the opposite effect with my gas oven. Cakes rise better and have a finer crust when I raise the height of the racks a notch.