Baking Instructions

How to prep your cake pan? How much batter should I use? How long should I bake for? What temperature should I bake at? How many servings?

This is where you can find expert answers to your baking questions.

Baking 101

Follow the recipe or scale it accurately up or down by calculating the Baker’s Percentage. This allows you to scale recipes proportionally without negatively affecting taste or texture.
One of the best and easiest ways to measure ingredients is to use grams (or ounces). Convert your favorite recipes to save time for your future self.
Use a dry measuring cup for dry ingredients and a liquid measuring cup for liquids as they are designed to be leveled off at the top and accommodate spills and the curvature of liquid respectively for accurate measurements.
Use the right size pan, the one specified in your recipe or find standard pan sizes.
Bake “slow and low“. Anodized aluminum bakeware conducts well and benefits baking with a 25° F (4° C) temperature reduction. Add an additional 3-6 minutes to your recipes baking time for every 30 minutes.

Pan Prep

How to prepare cake pans for easy release before baking?

CAKES: Grease your pans with a thin layer of room-temperature, unsalted butter or shortening and dust evenly with 1-2 tbsps (15-30 ml) of flour. You can also line your pan with parchment paper and spray grease. Alternatively, we recommend vegetable oil pan spray or Baker’s Joy. *Tip: The use of olive oil or aerosol release sprays containing olive oil are not recommended as they can leave a sticky residue and may discolor the pan over time.

MUFFINS & CUPCAKES: If you are not using paper muffin cups, we recommend greasing and flouring like a cake pan.

ANGEL FOOD: Do not grease your pan for stiffly-beaten egg white recipes, simply line the bottom with parchment paper. This allows the cake to cling to the sides of the pan and rise properly.

PASTRIES & COOKIES: Usually no pan preparation is needed as most recipes have a high fat content and provide an effective release. If you are baking pastries or cookies with a low-fat content, simply line the sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

BREADS: For first-time use, we recommend using butter, coconut oil, canola oil, lard or shortening. If needed, dust with flour for sweet breads and cornmeal for yeast breads. After the first few uses, the baking surface will build a patina that will eliminate or minimize the need for pan prep. Why is my bread sticking to the pan?

PIES, TARTS & QUICHES: Most crust recipes have high butter and fat content that will provide a natural release. Unless your recipe specifically calls for a grease-release preparation, these items generally do not require any pan prep.

COOKIES: Read: Methods and Techniques for Cookies

Batter Capacity

How much cake batter per pan do I need? How high to fill a cake pan?

Generally for 1 or 2-inch-deep pans, you will fill them 1/2 full of batter. For pans that are 3 or 4-inch-deep, the batter needs to be about 2/3 high. On occasion, you may need the batter capacity for a certain recipe or novelty pan. View our Cake Baking Guide for more details and estimations including weight chart.

Calculate a Pan’s Batter Capacity: Fill the pan to the brim with water. Use a measuring cup to determine how much you poured. Subtract 1/2 the amount of water from the total to determine capacity for 1 or 2-inch deep pans, and subtract 1/3 of the total amount for pans that are 3 or 4-inch deep.

Placing one or more heating rods in the pan (refer to Baking Guide for how many to use) is recommended by professionals for cakes that exceed 9 inches in diameter, larger 3 or 4 inch deep pans or novelty-shaped pans. Simply, position the flat base of the heating rod at the bottom of the pan.

Temp

What temperature to bake a cake?

Fat Daddio’s Anodized Aluminum Bakeware heats faster and may require a temperature reduction for most recipes. For professional baking results, we recommend lowering the temperature to 325° F (165° C) and baking “slow and low” for a few minutes longer than the recipes instructs. A good place to start is a 15° F (10° C) reduction, and checking on your cake when the recommended recipe baking time is up. Actual temperature reduction and time will vary depending on oven type, pan size, altitude, ingredients and how many times the oven was opened to admire your baking.

Baking Time

How long to bake a cake?

Use the same ingredients and portions, techniques and pan sizes called for in the recipe to help set you up for baking success as there are many variables to baking time. Your ingredients, altitude, pan size and oven performance all effect baking results. There is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer. However, there are several indicators that your cake is done:

Generally, if your cake starts to smell good, it is likely close to being ready to take out of the oven. If it jiggles when moved, it is likely not ready. If the top springs back when lightly-touched, it may be done. Insert a toothpick or paring knife into the center of the cake to see if the crumb has set. If it comes out clean, it is done.

Variable	How it might affect your baking…
OVEN TYPE	Are you using a standard electric, gas or convection oven? Air fryer? Pressure cooker? Slow cooker? The type and the age of your oven or applicance play a large part in your temperature determination. Time and temperature requirements will vary between ovens. Place oven racks as far away from the top and bottom as possible. Use an oven thermometer to help regulate temperatures accurately.
PAN SIZE	The general rule of thumb when baking is “the bigger the pan, the lower the temperature”. You bake a 9” round chocolate cake for about 30-35 minutes at 350° F (175° C). However, if you were putting the same recipe in a 14” pan, you would need to lower the temperature to 325° F (162° C) for 50-55 minutes. Also, if you put that same recipe in a standard cupcake pan, you would bump the temperature up to 350° F (175° C) and bake for 15-20 minutes (How many cupcakes in a cake mix?). For larger pans, you may need to use a heating rod (HCR-425).
ALTITUDE	Altitude is one of the most complicated variables to address in baking. Not only do you need to adjust the time and temperature, but also the sugar, liquid and flour content of your recipe. At high altitude, the air pressure is lower than at sea level causing foods to take longer to bake. Liquids evaporate faster so you might need to adjust amounts of flour, sugar and liquids. Gases expand more so doughs rise faster. Leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder) may need to be decreased. Bread doughs may need shorter rising times.
INGREDIENTS	If you add any ingredients that increases the amount of liquid in your recipe, such as an extra egg, the baking time will increase as well. How to measure dry and liquid ingredients accurately? Read: Mixing Methods for Ingredients and Doughs