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Not enough cake pans


snowangel

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I'm baking a couple of cakes, and don't have enough pans, and am wondering if batter will hold in the fridge (or on the counter) while the first ones are baking. I'd prefer not to buy extra pans (each cake calls for three pans, and I only have two).

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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I think it depends on your recipe and the type of leavening.

If you do hold the batter, the cakes made from that batter won't be as high, and if you've had to hold them for a long period of time, they may not rise at all.

Personally, I'd scale the recipe down, then make three batches. It will take you longer (and let the pans cool before starting the second batch), but you'll get better results.

(If you do decide to scale down, a large egg is about 52 grams--if you're using whole eggs, just beat the total number of eggs you need together, then weigh out however much you need for 2/3 of a recipe.)

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if the batter uses Baking Powder, try to find Double Acting BP. It is formulated to act once when moistened, and then the 2nd time when heated, thereby increasing your chance of success with holding the batter.

Karen Dar Woon

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I'd prefer not to buy extra pans (each cake calls for three pans, and I only have two).

Well,... I vote for just buying an extra pan or two. Look in the wedding section at Wal Mart. You can pick up decent cake pans really cheap.

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I was wondering myself about this. For me is not only a matter of expense but also of storage space. The question that ensues is: would aluminum foil pans work?

I know that I wouldn't get smooth sides, but if covered in frosting I don't see a problem there.

The human mouth is called a pie hole. The human being is called a couch potato... They drive the food, they wear the food... That keeps the food hot, that keeps the food cold. That is the altar where they worship the food, that's what they eat when they've eaten too much food, that gets rid of the guilt triggered by eating more food. Food, food, food... Over the Hedge
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I'd prefer not to buy extra pans (each cake calls for three pans, and I only have two).

Well,... I vote for just buying an extra pan or two. Look in the wedding section at Wal Mart. You can pick up decent cake pans really cheap.

I was right by Home Goods (TJ Maxx's home goods only store) and there were four of them sitting there -- really nice heavy non-stick ones with straight sides -- regularly $18.99/each on the clearance rack for $1.99 each. I bought all four of them!

But, I am thinking that with cupcakes it would work because the baking time is so much shorter.

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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Hi there--my two cents worth is this: we used to make large batches of batter at the restaurant I used to work at. We then made mini cupcakes to serve as a dessert component. We kept the batter in the fridge for no more than 2 days, and we could discern no difference in flavor or texture between the "fresh" ones and the ones we baked from refrigerated batter. We did not do this with any cake leavened only with baking soda--only double-acting baking powder, as KarenDW suggested.

Jenni

Pastry Methods and Techniques

Pastry Chef Online

"We're all home cooks when we're cooking at home."

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I'd prefer not to buy extra pans (each cake calls for three pans, and I only have two).

Well,... I vote for just buying an extra pan or two. Look in the wedding section at Wal Mart. You can pick up decent cake pans really cheap.

I was right by Home Goods (TJ Maxx's home goods only store) and there were four of them sitting there -- really nice heavy non-stick ones with straight sides -- regularly $18.99/each on the clearance rack for $1.99 each. I bought all four of them!

Wow. That's even better than Wal Mart prices. At least I think it is. Our Wal Mart stores carry wilton cake pans pretty cheap, but not $1.99 each.

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I just got the Cake Bible from my library and was paging thru it. RLB says to put the batter in the desired pan then keep it in the fridge until baking. This will result in properly (or very close to) risen cake. Apparently the batter wil rise somewhat in the fridge and then deflate going into a pan and not re-rise again properly. This solution is more for having pans and batter but not enough oven space. But I thought I'd throw the info in here as it's somewhat related to the topic at hand - and I certainly found it helpful! :biggrin:

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As prasantrin says, it really does depend on what kind of cake you are baking. If it is a chiffon or genoise or any other type of cake that has egg whites folded in or yolks that are beaten, it needs to go in the oven right away for best results.

However, if its a butter cake, or a carrot cake or an oil based cake, the batter will hold just fine. Even more so if your main leavener is baking powder. If your only leavener is baking soda, you have a little less time to work with, but you can hold it a reasonable amount of time (a couple hours is fine).

I've had to bake cakes from a 60 qt mixer, so I'm experienced with running out of pans and/or oven space, so I know what works and what doesn't! :laugh:

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I agree with ChefPeon. We used to do cupcakes at my last job, and we'd mix up a big batch (butter cake recipes) and hold them, baking off what we needed each day. The batter would hold 2-3 days easy. I did the same at home with a RLB Cake Bible recipe when baking a bunch of cupcakes for a friend's bday party, when I had neither enough pans nor oven space.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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