Hi all and in particular Anne & Charles who helped me with my maths and I may yet prevail upon you guys again and anyone else.

I have made my 6x2 and 9x2 layers and now have 12 inch layers to do next week, only to find that the cake store where I am hiring my tins only does 3 inch deep ones. I am making the white or yellow butter cake.

So I am going to have to do this in a 3 inch depth tin as i cannot get hold of anything in time without importing it to the UK.

What do I do batter wise??

Thank you so much

Herbqueen

Hi, Herb!!

Rotten luck!

I’ll tell ya’.  Rose’s cakes do not work well in 3” pans, so here is my suggestion (and I hope Charles or someone has a better onehas a better one)!

I would get the 12” pan, but only one of them.  Then, using heavy duty aluminum foil, press it into the pan (or I suppose you could use the outside of the pan in you prefer) and make your own 2” high pan.  Be sure to line it with parchment—bottom and sides—so you get a smooth-edged release.

I’ve cooked “muffins” in foil pans when I’ve had extra batter, and they come out fine.

I don’t think you could put anything in the pan to lift it 1”, becuase I think that might affect how the heat gets to the bottom of the batter.

—ak

Hi Anne

piece of luck, I found some on amazon UK, so good news…bad news is they cost me twice as much as you guys probably get them in the states, but i consider them an investment ! BTW my other layers came out well despite the fact I left the batter out on the side and in the fridge whilst baking in stages. And, it did not seem to make much difference in height to any of the layers ! Thnaks for your help

Yay on all counts (except the higher $$, of course, always beastly there)!

I believe that others here have reported using 3 inch pans with success, as long as the batter is the right quantity for 2 inch pans.

I too am wondering about making Rose’s cakes in 3” high pans - particularly the Heart shaped ones (Fat Daddio’s). I prefer a single layer cake that’s a little higher so I want to invest in heart pans that are 3”. I have heard cakes will rise better in them, but I also know Rose’s recipes are formulated for the 9” Wilton pans. FD’s only come in 8 & 10” sizes also - so there is also that factor to consider. If I get the 10” would I just increase the batter amount to compensate - or am I asking for trouble? Need to order the pans asap so I will anxiously await your input fellow bakers! THANKS!!

Hi, Kuchenbaker!

Feel free to go for 8” and 10” pans, but not 3” pans (for a taller layer), if you know what’s good for you !!!!!  Charles T notes above you can likely make a 2” pan worth of batter in a 3” pan, but probably not an increased batch for a taller cake.

Actually, I haven’t used a 10” pan myself, but I think there are recipes in the wedding cake section for that size, so you can, no doubt, experiment with the “regular” recipes with, likely, good results. 

You can try to just increase the batter, but I think you would probably want to adjust the baking powder (reduce it by, perhaps, 1/8 tsp per layer to make the structure stronger).  The Rose Factor can likely help you adjust your leavening, also. You might have to use a flower nail. 

I have used 8” pans many times.  A recipe for two 9” layers works well for three 8” layers—there is a very light variance in the batter amount that you can calculate, but it works well without adjustment, also.  You can increase baking powder by about 1/8 tsp. per 9” layer of batter, or you can bake “as is” and trim any domed tops.

Long story short, you’re definitely safe with 8”, probably safe with 10” (in fact, I’m sure others here have used them) ... but 3” pans for taller cakes are definitely risky!!!!!!!

—ak