I got the Cake Bible for Christmas (yay!!) and am SO ready to start making cakes from scratch instead of from a box! I also got a 5 quart bowl lift KA, a digital food scale, measuring cups and spoons, and cake flour. I am missing one thing, though…PANS!!

In the Cake Bible, Rose talks about how 2” pans are taller than what the recipes are planned for, so you have to adjust the recipe accordingly. I am terrified of adjusting, so I reeeeally want to find the right size pan. However, I’m stuck at work (borrrrrring job) and browsing amazon for pans, and I can’t remember the right height (is it 1.75”?) to try to find! I did find one pan (link) that looks like it *might* be what I need, but it says it is aluminum-clad steel. Is that as heat-conductive as plain ol aluminum? Can anyone recommend a certain pan, either on amazon or elsewhere, within my budget of $10 or less per pan? Less than that would be even better. If I don’t find anything within a few days, I’m just going to get the Wilton set of 2 9"x2” pans for $11, so the price has to compete with that fairly well (I need more money!!!)

Thanks for any help anyone is able to give!

Hellgamatic - 27 December 2010 02:04 PM

Thanks for any help anyone is able to give!

Here’s a quality, 100% aluminum brand:

http://www.amazon.com/Parrish-Magic-Line-Round-Aluminum/dp/B0000DE20F/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1293477703&sr=8-3

The aluminum clad steel works fine, but it WILL rust, or at least the steel below the aluminum will rust if you leave standing water in the pan.  Note that the product you linked to warns of not using metal utensils on the pan.  I won’t buy aluminum clad steel any more.

Consider goinjg for the 2” and the conversion!!!  Since you’re weighing your ingredients now, the conversion is easy—it’s just “whatever” times 1.33!  You can write in the margin of the book, also.  It’s harder when you’re measuring, because trying to do an extra 1/3 of 1-1/4 cups is mindboggling, but doing 1.33 x 124 grams is simple!

Take a moment to give it a try with your calculator and just convert the grams.  If you ever have questions about convrting the leavening (which you don’t want to weigh), just do a quick post and someone will get the answer to you quickly! 

Plus, when you get your RHC—AND YOU WILL—it’s just a matter of time!!!!—all the recipes are for 9x2s.

Have fun baking!!!!!!!

I gotta say all these years baking out of the Cake Bible I’ve never once used anything other than 2” high pans, with no problem!  Here’s a recent blog post where I baked the All-American Yellow Butter Cake in a 2 inch high pan, no resizing of the recipe and yet the cakes were two inches high anyway.  I use Magic Line aluminum cake pans and Magic Cake Strips.

Evil [Quite Wonderful, Really] Cake Lady—I think you have just shown us the scenario we all seek:  The Best of Both Worlds!

Okay, I went ahead and just bought the Wilton ones for now, as they’re 2/$11 and my budget is tiiiight. Buying those gave me the money left over to get a new tablecloth (Christmas clearance!) so I’m happy with them :D Eventually, I’ll probably “upgrade” to some older ones from a thrift store or something that are heavier and more straight-sided, but in the meantime I am putting a calculator on the kitchen counter!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I can’t wait to start baking (as soon as my danged oven gets fixed)

EvilCakeLady - 27 December 2010 08:36 PM

I gotta say all these years baking out of the Cake Bible I’ve never once used anything other than 2” high pans, with no problem!  Here’s a recent blog post where I baked the All-American Yellow Butter Cake in a 2 inch high pan, no resizing of the recipe and yet the cakes were two inches high anyway.  I use Magic Line aluminum cake pans and Magic Cake Strips.

Me too! I never noticed pans less than 2 inches was required.

I’m glad this topic was started. I am about to make a Julia Child cake. She explains French cakes are shorter than their American counterparts.  I was just going to use a 2 inch cake pan.

Baker’s Secret has 1 1/2 inch cake pans available almost everywhere.  They are inexpensive and recommended by Cook’s Illustrated

missyjean, are those steel or aluminum? The only baker’s secret stuff I’ve ever bought was dark coated steel, and I’m trying very hard to stick with aluminum because I want to make sure that anything that goes wrong is me and not my equipment or ingredients, lol!

Umm, I really don’t know. What I do know is Cook’s Illustrated recommends them and they are very inexpensive. I believe a 8 x 1 1/2 is $5

I’ve purchased 8 x 1-1/2 at Sur la Table that are aluminum—they’re Magic Line.  They’re reasonably priced at about $8 each.  They might have other sizes also, but do consider going for 2” and converting (and maybe not even having to do that)!  I think you’ll find them MUCH more flexible and useful in the long term.

Hellgamatic - 28 December 2010 10:57 PM

missyjean, are those steel or aluminum? The only baker’s secret stuff I’ve ever bought was dark coated steel, and I’m trying very hard to stick with aluminum because I want to make sure that anything that goes wrong is me and not my equipment or ingredients, lol!

I believe these are steel.  Carbon steel is a decent conductor, but not as good as aluminum.  Stainless steel, however, is a poor conductor.

Thermal conductivity of common metals (W/mK):

Carbon Steel:      54
Cast Iron:        55
Stainless Steel:  16
Aluminum:        250
Copper:          401


Source:  http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html

Awesome information! Thank you CharlesT

Oooh, do they make copper baking pans? :D