I am a newby here as well, and i just love this forum.
I made the banana refrigerator cake also and it is so moist and yummie.
It is my go to banana cake from now on.

But i was just wondering… is it possible to double or triple this recipe, i would like to try to make a 12 inch cake with this recipe.

Thank you, best regards,

Astrid1428

Hi, Astrid!

Welcome!

You can certainly double or triple to make multiple cakes of the same size (i.e., layers), but when you are thinking of using a pan size other than that specified, leavening adjustments come into play.  Going to a pan the size of 12” is a big jump, and would be experimental.  A 12x2” pan is two times the volume of a 9x2” pan, so you would double the batter, but you would need to decrease baking powder (not soda).  Baking powder lessens the cake’s structure, so decreasing it makes the cake stronger so it can support itself across that big span.  How much?  You can try 1/8 tsp per recipe, but it could be 1/4. 

Rose has done these adjustments, by trial and error for several cakes, and they can be used as guides, but not rules (except for those particular cakes).  Luckily, one of the cakes is a banana wedding cake in RHC—it’s in the wedding cake section.  I forget what it’s called, but it’s the one encrusted with macadamia nuts—it’s a banana cake, and it likely has a 12” version.  Note, though, the quantities—with wedding cakes, the recipe would be for two 12” layers (plus two of other size layers) for tiers, so you’d want to adjust the quantity for a single layer (halve everything if it’s written for two 12” layers).

Let me know if you can’t find it, and I’ll look!

Goodluck!!!!!!

—ak

Hi Anne,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and answer my post.
I have to say i am a real newbie at baking so this is all new to me.
But i realy want to learn about it.

So just to be sure i don`t mess up i am not going to make the 12 inch cake, i will do that on a later date, the cake i am baking is for a birthday party and i don`t want to take the risk.

So i want to make 2 tiered cake instead, it is going to be for about 30 people.
The bottom is going to be a 10 inch and the top an 8 inch.

Do i have to change something about the recipe for these size of cake pans.
What happens if i put the batter in a smaller pan, or can i just fill the cakepan 2/3.

Thank you so much

Best regards Astrid

Hi, Astrid!  If you look in your RHC, I’d scope that wedding cake.  My guess is it has a 10” tier and will give you the exact everything to use.

Meanwhile, if you decide to just go from the ‘regular’ recipe, you can double it.  The volume of a 9x2” pan is 63—2x63 = 126.  The volume of a 10x2” pan is 78, and the volume of an 8x2” pan is 50.  78 + 50 = 128.  Put about 40% of the batter in the 8” pan and 60% of the batter in the 10” pan.

This is something I learned recently:  1 tier = two layers of the same size.  So, if you’re making a two-tiered cake, with one tier being 10” and another being 8”, that would be 4 layers. In that case, you’d use 4x recipe.  If you’re making to layers, you’d use 2x recipe.

If you go with the ‘regular’ recipe, you might want to decrease the baking powder by 1/8”—again, it’s experimental—but it might help keep a dip from forming.  The decrease might give you a small dome on the 8” layer, but you can trim a dome.  (Maybe you can put it upside down in a dip—ha ha.)  If you bake the pans one at a time, bake the 8” first—this will let the 10” expel some leavening and gain strength.

Good luck—let us know how it happens!!!  The best advice, though, is to scope that wedding cake.  It’s the tropical wedding cake or something—banana is not in the title—but there’s sure to be accurate measurements there for a larger size pan.

Anne, I’m so glad you took this question, because this is completely confusing to me .

Astrid,

The cake is, in fact, the Tropical Wedding Cake on page 391 of RHC.  It has recipes for 12” and 8” layers, so you can try it as a 12”. The 12” recipe is for two 12” layers, so you’d cut it in half for one layer, of course.  Offhand, it looks like the Cordon Rose Banana Bake (from TCB)—the only real difference between it and the Bnana Refrigerator Cake is Cordon Rose uses butter rather than oil.  I don’t have the time at the moment to compare then directly, but if they are otherwise identical, you could surely sub the oil if that’s your preference.  The Cordon Rose Banana is one of my fave cakes, frosted or unfrosted, BTW.

—ak